A Silver Thread A Golden Needle
by laurensnana
Summary: The end of the Wells Family Chronicles..the twins are all grown, finding their own way to love, romance, and also tragedy..this is the story of a family and how they relate to one another in good times and bad.
1. Chapter 1

**A Silver Thread, A Golden Needle**

Prologue: Samantha and EJ are approaching the date of their 25th wedding anniversary. Each of their children have a date with their own destiny heading towards that date. It is going to be romantic, suspenseful, and tragic for the Wells family.

**Chapter I**

"Ok EJ, I swear! I am flying out to Hollywood and I am personally going to fire that man! Look at these ratings? They have never been this low in the history of "Our Lives, Our Days! What are they doing? How could they have taken a top rated show and just ruined it! All my characters are being destroyed! Sabrina has been turned into some kind of wimpering rescue me clinging vine every third episode! This is not who I ..I mean Sabrina is..it won't work, and it has to change!" Sami had the latest copies of Variety, as well as Soap Opera Weekly and Soap Opera Digest in her lap, while the latest Nielsens looked as bad as they possibly could.

"Darling," EJ was attempting to be soothing to her, but he was going to have to admit she had a point, "now look, he had to clean up the prior writers mess as well, so this may take a bit of time!"

"We do not have that kind of time EJ! Look, a lot of peoples livelihoods' depend on this show..what gave him the balls to come in and think he knew it all! Hell, even Logan Sheffler finally listened to me! I wish he had survived the earthquake..why do the good die young?"

"Ok, ok, don't upset yourself! Go to Hollywood, but make sure you have it all set up just how you want to do these changes..part of the problem has been the show seems to have lost its sense of direction..I agree with you there, but since you are the heart of this show, in Sabrina, I think you can make it work again! Take one of the Mythic Jets, and if I can break free, I may join you for a couple of days. You know how much I love Las Angeles!" The grin she gave him let him know how much she understood him, as really, there was no place he detested more.

"And maybe while we are out there, we can make it up to San Francisco and pop in on Kacie. You know, surprise her!"

He looked at her, and grinned. "Surprise her?"

"Ok, I will call her and let her know that of course she is right, we will be coming by!"

Kacie was now part of a study going on at the University of California in Berkeley, on the reasons and why fores of extra sensory perception. Her abilities had been doubted, but after much study and analyzing, her department heads were beginning to understand why she felt this was just an area of the mind that everyone had to ability to access, just not the opportunity. Her work was now zeroing in on what was needed to sharpen this skill for the general population!

At this moment, she had been busily entering data into a computer program when she got the thought, and nodded happily. Yes, it would be so nice to see Mom and Dad for a day or so if they came into the City. When the phone at her desk buzzed her, she did not bother to look at the caller i.d., just picked it up to cheerily say, "Hi Mom!"

"Hi sweetie, how did you know it was me?" but as soon as she asked the question Sami laughed at herself. Kacie was a natural wonder. "Never mind, don't answer that! I am coming out to ..

"Hollywood?" finishing her mother's sentence.

"Stop that please!"

"Oh, Mom, come on, I have been taping the show and knew you would not be happy with what they have done lately!"

"Well can you blame me? I mean how can they make you out to be some kind of evil scientist out to steal your sisters boyfriend?"

Giggling, Kacie interceded once more, "Mom, if I have to be a character in your soap, I would rather be the mean one, I mean how can my character end up as a Diva like Sabrina unless she gets to be bad!"

"Well, in that case, if you want to be the bad one, I will see that you are my sweetie! But at least you can be a bad one with good writing, good hair, and a better wardrobe!"talking with Kacie had restored her mother's good humor. The little girl who once cut off her pigtails and got the family chased into a lake by a bear was now a college professor, having been a child prodigy growing up. She had graduated from University at the age of fourteen, eight years ahead of her older brother and sister. They had both sat proudly with their parents at her commencement along with her own twin brother Ace, and the other members of the household. Tippin, Lorene, and Nanny all had places of honor, with Nanny now being in charge of making sure Roman was comfortable in his wheelchair, and that he could see everything going on, whether or not he understood it all.

"Is Boseph here?"In the midst of all the noise, and the crowd of the commencement crowd Roman had been confused, and mixed up his younger brothers name a bit. Nanny took it all in stride, never letting her patient have a moment of worry, she would reassure him that Bo was indeed coming, and would be sitting right next to him. After that, he had contentedly listened to the music, smiling at his daughter and grandchildren.

Both her mother and Kacie were now looking at the identical picture, Kacie had it on her desk, and Sami had it on the wall. It was the picture of her graduation. She had been so young, and not even as tall as her mother in the picture. Her hair was still cut in a no nonsense wedge, long hair had been a bother to her, but the confidence she exuded came out in the picture. Sami and EJ had stood with her, the rest of the family and household members surrounding them like a cohesive halo.

Justin was as tall as his father, with the same aristocratically handsome face. His choice of career had worried his mother, but delighted his father, and he was even now in Argentina racing in a professional circuit. Jessica was of course a stunning blonde, her hair falling to her waist in waves of wheat colored beauty, but her life was now far away from Salem as well, as a pilot for British Airways. She had achieved her dream as well. Ace was still the family nee'r do well. He had taken out three years ago to explore the world on his own, and except for the occasional letter and even rarer phone call, he was on his own adventure. A nineteen year old had left to the wails of protest of his mother, but the complete understanding of his father.

Sami looked at the picture long after she had hung up from Kacie. This was the family she had dreamed of having for so many years when she had been growing up. When EJ came over to place his arms around her, gazing at the picture as well they both knew a sense of contentment in a life that had not gone stale, just well aged like fine wine!

Authors note: last one of this series, and I hope it concludes with finally what we all want,,an EJami love story starting!

For fun, as I had to go back through these stories to look up stuff, I am going to put a quiz in here for those of you who have read them all..each chapter will have a little question or two from prior installments..see if you remember..I mean this has been a year long journey!

1. what was the name of the first book Sami authored?

2. what horrid food does EJ like?

**Chapter II**

Ace slung the backpack over his shoulder as he climbed into the bus. In about six hours he would arrive in Buenos Aires, and give Justin a surprise. Looking at the program in his hand, he was proud to see his brothers' picture in a winner's circle photograph from the prior years Gran Premiro De La Republica Argentina! As he read details from the race, he saw that it was fifty three laps for about one hundred ninety seven miles, and the course was a twisty series of turns through the city along with a couple of straight aways where he knew Justin was never beaten.

Figuring he would get in too late to disturb Justin and his girlfriend, Ace decided he would find a hostel, and lay out his sleeping bag for the night. It was also time to take a shower, as he looked down at his clothes and rubbed the growth on his cheeks. It had been a few days, but he had jumped into that mountain spring yesterday, January was warm down here, and the water had been inviting and refreshing after his long day of hitchhiking with local famers. By now he spoke pretty fair Spanish, and could get by in Portuguese, as well as German, and when he looked up to see who he was sitting beside, a pair of beautiful green eyes looked back at him, which pleased him no end until her heard her whisper "voce cheira como pexes rotted".

He looked at her in surprise, but as he saw her eyes on his backpack with the flag of both American and Britain on it, he figured she probably took him for someone with no other language skills but English, and decided for her rudeness he deserved to have a bit of fun with her.

She was a redhead, her hair braided and coiled in a bun on top of her head. She was dressed like she was a country girl headed to the big city, a dress of flowered prints, with a big white collar. Her feet were encased in a pair of comfortable but yet serviceable sandals. When he looked at her hands, he saw she was not manicured, the nails looked as though they were accustomed to work. She was not one of the daughters of the wealthy who bought cheap land in Bolivia and Argentina, she was of working class stock. However, she seemed to feel she could look down on someone else who looked a bit worse for wear, and for that Ace was going to make her uncomfortable as well.

"Pardon, me ma'am, but I just have to get these socks changed!" as he said the words in English, he reached into his rucksack and pulled out a change of socks, while taking his old ones off slowly and deliberately, knowing they were exactly as she described, they did smell like rotting fish! He dropped them on the floor next to her feet, smirking as she quickly tucked her daintly clunky sandals under her seat, away from the pungent clothing. Seeing as he had not bothered her enough, he then pulled out a somewhat cleaner t-shirt than the one he had on. He put it to his nose, sniffed a moment, but decided to turn it inside out for a better presentation. The one he had on was removed, and he put the new one on, turning to her and asking in Portuguese, "est gua algum melhor fait?

Her face turned several shades of pink then blushed to complete rose as she realized he had understood her rude remark.

Her English was good, but heavily accented with the flavors of both Portuguese and German, as she stammered out, "I am so sorry..I have not been feeling well..I should not have been so rude, and I did not think that you would understand me of course, but that was another bad supposition on my part.."every word she was able to get out was stammered, and totally given over to embarrassment.

It was really a waste of breath. She did not need to say anything at all really, for Ace was now looking into her eyes, seeing them as so green that he compared them to some of the jade he had seen being mined in Bolivia, with lashes not coated with mascara, framed only with a fringe of the same auburn color that crowned her head. Her complexion had a smattering of freckles, but set against a skin tone that was almost translucent with its clarity and ivory tint. Once he focused on the movement of her lips as she talked, finally he heard what she was saying. It was an effort for him to refrain from putting a finger to her lips to see if they were as soft as they looked,

"I have been a little nauseated since yesterday morning, and I did not have time to find something to eat at the last stop..again, please do not mind me, I know how hard it is when you are traveling as you are, we get many students in this area, please accept my apology!"

Ace reached once more into his rucksack, bringing out a zippered bag which he set on the tray table from the seat. He winked at her, then brought forth some fruit, mango, grapes, and a couple of oranges. Rummaging a bit more, he produced three sandwiches of meat and cheese which did not smell like rotted fish to her at all. Her hunger rose up with the glands in her mouth, and she turned away. It would be impolite to stare at him as he ate.

"My name is Ace Wells, and if I am going to have lunch with you, I really would like to know your name."He began to divvy up the food, putting a sandwich and two fruits on her side, and the same on his. The third sandwich was put back with the other fruit. It might be awhile before they would get another chance to get off and find anything else. He also had a large bottle of water, which he poured into a metal mug. He gave her the bottle and kept the mug for himself.

"I cannot accept, you will need this for your journey..I will provision myself at the next stop.."

"Which the map says is three hours away, and has no services..just eat ok, I would not feel right eating in front of you anyway..all I want in exchange is your name and maybe some conversation to pass the time on the ride..is that too much to ask?" His smile twinkled at her, and for the first time she noticed how nice looking he was. He was tall, at least six feet, with blonde hair that was bleached almost white by the sun. The blue eyes that he used to wink at her were enhanced by the long dark brown lashes. Tanned, and wearing khaki shorts that showed the length of his long legs, he was like a lot of the American or British tourists she had seen pass through, but the hunger overruled her reticence and she gave in.

"My name is Eva, and yes, I would like to share your lunch, if you allow me to repay you with a lunch when we get to Buenos Aires then?'

"Deal, Eva, now do you want turkey or roast beef?"

Authors note: those questions were so much fun, I want to ask more! And they will be harder!

1. name of first person to die in the series? Who killed him?

2. name Sami's designer? Her publishing agent?

3. what did Samis engagement ring from EJ look like-what series did he give it to her in?

4. what feature does EJ like Sami's clothes to have and why?

5. where were Justin and Jessica born?

**Chapter III**

"What was the average running speed on that lap?" Justin removed his helmet, looking to his crew manager. When the number was flashed at him, he groaned. It seemed to slow down each time he ran it again. The course was one long straightaway uphill, one down hill, and those were where he was losing it. The curves were where he gained speed again, and nothing he tried seemed to work. They were going to have to reevaluate the race strategy.

"We have to eliminate one of these pit stops, that will make it up", Lou had been checking out the other cars who were getting faster times, and the only difference seemed to be they had gone to one fewer stop.

"Ok, put the harder tire on, I will give up the speed, let's try it and see if we get a better result." Justin walked around to shake the hand of his crew, and to thank them for the way they had hung around.

"Guys, we are gonna take this, and I don't want any of you to have any doubts, by the way where is Lorenzo? His eyes searched the crew to find one of his teams engine mechanics, but all of the crew looked at him sheepishly, before Lou stepped up.

"He quit on us today, but I have his replacement already, in fact she is already in the garage getting the back up tuned and ready."

Justin had been having problems with his lead machinic, but he was not prepared for the words "she" to come out of Lou's mouth, and even less prepared for the grease stained brunette who came bounding over to him, her eyes full of the admiration she had long held for the son of EJ Wells! He was almost as good as his Dad, and she had heard the stories from her father about how great he had been, to land this position was her dream come true!

Her hand was out in greeting, and her exuberance was out from her mouth and grating on his nerves before he had a chance to collect himself.

"Justin Wells, this is such an honor! And let me tell you that back up engine is on! If you need it, it is sooo ready..in fact I think maybe you might think about putting it in and letting us do a once over on this one before the race, I thought I heard a little something in this one that just does not sound quite right! I saw you in Hungary! But that track is so narrow and dusty, you may have gotten a little engine plug from the dust, so say the word and we can get it pulled and checked out..I would work overnight if needed, you just say the word! I mean this is such an honor..I told Lou my dad worked on your Dad's cars..you just ask your Dad..ask him about Stanley Schoefeld! He taught me everything he knew, and what he didn't know, I went to the Ferrari School..graduated top in my class.." as she kept explaining her Curriculum Vitae, his frown grew deeper in annoyance.

"Justin, this is Phaedra Schoefeld, and I have just put her on the crew, she has had some pretty good experience, and as she said, her father worked for your Dad in his day. I vouch for her work so far", Lou was not backing down from his choice as he saw the look on Justins face go from doubt to sheer irritation.

"How old are you?..uh..Phay..what was that again?"

Now it was her turn to be irritated. "Same age as you, I am twenty five, I started in the garages when I was twelve. It was where I wanted to be. So my Da' let me hang out and he taught me most of it, but then when I left grammar school I went into the Tech school for Ferrari. Tops in my class there..as I said..and the name is Phaedra. My mom was into mythology, but don't go looking it up and searching for similarities, it is just a name after all." Her accent was English, probably he guessed from the Midlands, no posh London accent like his present girlfriend, Jillian.

As she talked, her hands went up to redo the pony tail that held back her

mane of chestnut hair. Somehow this gesture made Justin even more upset, and he threw his helmet into the seat of his car and walked away.

Lou had watched this exchange with a bemused smile. Phaedra had come on to him just as strong, but when he set her the task of retuning the backup engine, as he watched her every move, he had to admire her skill, and just general ease and love of what she was doing. No nick or blemish on any part escaped her notice, and that was what was needed in this business, the eye for the small unnoticeable detail. She had convinced him, and it was his job to keep the crew slots full with the most competent people he could find. She filled the bill, and Justin would have to come around to his way of thinking, there just were not that many mechanics around. Lorenzo had not been reliable, his love of the late nights and the women had finally taken its' toll, his work had become sloppy. That was a way to kill someone in this business.

"Hey, you did great, and he is gonna see that soon, don't worry kid!" he put his arm around her shoulders and both of them watched as Justin made his way up to the young woman waving to him from the stands. Phaedra looked at her, a beautiful platinum blonde, she was wearing all white, her tight shirt ending in a knot on her tanned and toned midriff. When Justin had reached to hug and kiss her, she had pushed him away, then brushed off her white Capri outfit, the gesture said a lot, and Lou grimaced. "I have yet to see what he sees in that little bitch!"

Phaedra looked down at her greasy overalls, then to her hands with the blackened nails. She did not wonder what Justin saw in the woman at all..she had been used to seeing that type of woman around the tracks of the world all her life. Luckily, her father had married her mother loving her for the person she was, not some beauty queen, and his values were the ones Phaedra had listened to, so she had never been jealous of the track groupies, her sense of herself was strong.

Authors note: sorry for rushing this along, but I am kind of behind..if I am going to get this done by Mid Sept.

1. Name Tony's evil sidekick/henchman (note, this may have been Andres..lol just never revealed )

2. Name Lucas love interest in Africa

3. What country were Ace and Kacie born in?

4. What was the name of the revolutionary militant who captured EJ, Harris, Chandler, and Kate in Africa?

5. What was the country they were captured in?

**Chapter IV**

"Get up sleepy head!" Grant was pulling at the covers on Jessica's head, which made her burrow even deeper under. In this above all things she was her mothers daughter, and hated rising early. Her alarm clock was always set for three settings, the preliminary send off, the best get up now if you do not want to have to break speed limits getting to work, or now, what was going off and known as "the death alarm"!

When he saw nothing else was going to do it, he grabbed for the water glass by her bedside and dribbled it onto her face, then waited for the sputtering wake up that would mean he had to run for it.

"Grant, damn you! Why can't you just let the alarm do the work for you, I will get up when it finishes and you know it!" she reached for the cloth he was handing to her to wipe the damp from her face and hair, grabbing hold of her robe at the same time. Taking the cup of coffee he was handing over to her, she gulped the liquid then looked at the clock once again before gasping and running for the bath to shower and get ready. She was due out of Heathrow in two hours, and knew it would be close in the traffic this morning.

"We seem to be on the same schedule for the whole week, I am first cabin once more, but no layover for me, I turn right around. Looks like you get to spend another two nights in San Francisco..your sister will like that I bet."

"Grant, see if you can get someone to switch, we can take Kacie out on the town with us. Poor girl never has any fun, always doing that research stuff. She is way too serious."

"Jess, you know she doesn't do the club scene..what will we take her out to do?" Grant was not in favor of the idea, but laying over in San Francisco did have its' perks. He could taste the seafood and sourdough bread already. Pulling out his blackberry, he began calling other attendants who might take over for him. Success was his on the third try, as his friend and co worker Rowan had a wife who was expecting, and he liked the idea of coming home to her without having to stay in San Francisco.

He listened to the familiar sounds of Jess as she finished off her grooming routine in the bathroom. After two years, he knew how long she would spend in the shower, how long drying her hair and arranging it into the neat French twist at the base of her neck, as well as how long she would take to apply the bit of mascara, and lip gloss which were the only make up she would wear. Her blonde good looks did not need too much dressing up, and she would quickly don her captains uniform, putting on her hat last thing before grabbing her overnite case to be on her way out the door. It was considered bad tone for her to be seen with him in the area of the crews lounge, she was an officer, he a flight attendant, and the old rules of engagement were in strict force for British Airways.

It might have been nice to have woken a bit early and made love, it seemed as though it had been awhile now. Grant thought back a bit, until he looked at the calendar and saw it had been three weeks.

"Damn," he thought, "bad as married folks! I better talk to her about that, hell, wonder why she hasn't talked to me about it? He slipped his shoes on , and after a respectable amount of time to insure she would make it into Heathrow enough ahead of him to make it seem plausible that they did not live together, he went down to the garage to pull out his car and make his way in to work.

Jessica left her car with the attendant, and made her way into the airport faculty tunnel. Her brisk walk, and her trim attractive figure was not lost on many of the males, but she was unaware of all their stares. Her Dad was on the phone with her as she trotted along, and once again trying to make her an offer she could not refuse.

"But why Jess? You can be here and fly the company jets and make the same money as there..come home, your mom misses you! I miss you!" she smiled at the plaintive tone in his voice, but there was one person who he had not mentioned. Matthew, one of her fathers right hand men, and once upon a time her body guard and her hero was also man she had loved since she had been a child. Each time she returned home for visits and he would walk into a room, she had to fight to keep her eyes off of him. She knew hey would never even think about her that way since he was eighteen years older than her, but her heart could not stop what it felt. Matthew was someone it hurt to even look at, so she avoided the entanglement and the pain by just not going back to Salem very often.

There was a picture of the two of them on the wall, taken at a birthday party, when she was eight years old, he was holding her hands, while letting her feet rest on his shoes as he moved and let her dance with him. The look in her eyes was complete adoration, and if she could have lived forever in that moment, she would have been forever content. Then as it happened, he married Chelsea Brady, and she had even been in the wedding party as a junior bridemaid. Her fourteen year old heart had been broken, but only her sister had heard her crying herself to sleep that night.

"Dad, I am happy here, Grant and I are probably going to get married next year, or the year after, not sure really, and then we will buy a house, then give you and Mom some grandkids!"

"You know your mother will hate long distance grandmothering!"

"Ok, ok, on the grandmothering thing, we will have to work something out I know! Now I have to get onboard and do pre flight..so chill ok, and Kacie is having dinner with Grant and I tonight, so try and get to San Francisco with Mom, we can make it a fivesome!"

"Ok Trouble, that is a date. I will give Kace a call, and arrange to pick all of you up, one Limo with a sun roof..remember that in Las Vegas? How does that sound?"

"Daddy, I love you! Ok, call me at around five your time in California, Grant and I will check into the hotel and get a nap, you get Kacie, and pick us up at the Fairmont!"Crisply, she snapped her phone shut and gave a jaunty little salute to the attendant as she made her way down the jetway and into the cockpit.

"Authors note: So Kacie is a psychologist, Justin a race car driver, Jessica a airline pilot, and Ace is a world traveler. Sami is still involved in her books and the long running soap opera based on her first novel, and EJ is in charge of a lot of corporate entities, which may or may not be completely free of any dark and dangerous underpinnings ...

1. Name the families pet's names (both found in hearts and diamonds)

2. what were the names of the wives of Mondu? (rains of redemption)

3. How did Lexie and Kate kill Mondu?

4. Name the family household help (hint..there are 4 named)

5. Name the woman Austin cheated on Carrie with (Quality of Mercy)

I will give all answers when this is finished!

**Chapter V**

"Yes, put me through to his voice mail, and I will now leave the seventh message that he has not bothered to return." Sami was gritting her teeth, while EJ sat across from her, his long legs crossed while he smiled at her quiet determination. The car was waiting for them, but he had to feel sorry for the executive producer who had not taken or answered her calls. Two years ago, she had asked for and been given title to the ownership of "Our Days, Our Lives" from Mythic, but until this year, when another new writer had been hired, and his work had made the show noticed, but for so many wrong reasons, she had more or less let the show run itself. For over twenty years it had sailed along, winning emmys, among the top ten in daytime programming, with good sponsorship revenue going to both her and the network. Now it was next to last, hanging by a thread in the ratings over a show, "Impassioned" which was already on the cancellation list, and Sami was bound and determined to keep her show on the air!

"Samantha, I know you are angry, but are you sure you should terminate him until you have found a replacement?" when she looked at him, her eyes blazing he regretted introducing logical argument at this moment, for she was not going to hear it. EJ sighed, and went back to pulling the files he had to work on out of his folio.

"I have the meeting scheduled with HR as soon as I get there, if the bastard does not even want to take my calls, then I do not feel I owe him anything other than to buy out his contract!"

"Ok Darling, your call of course, but who do you think should take over his job until you do find a replacement?"

The look that came over her face did not make EJ feel exactly calm, her lips pursed, the red coating on them making tiny little folds, as her red tipped nails folded in an almost angelic way in her lap. Not good. He waited a moment, but knew beforehand what she was going to say, and tried in his own mind to line up the defensive arguments, or passionate consultation he would need to change her mind. Then she brought out the big guns.

"EJ, love," her body settled down upon his lap, as her arms went round his neck while her nose and mouth nuzzled into his ear, "It will probably take a lot of re writes on the show to bring it round, I have a lot of ideas, and I was forwarding them to Dryman, but he just was not listening to me..so how about we arrange to stay out here in L.A. for a few weeks, after he cleans out his desk, I can get with the writing staff, and the production crew, then I just know we can turn this around.." then she turned the smile on him that she knew he had never been able to resist in twenty five years of marriage..

"No". EJ stood, and steadied her so she would not fall. Then he walked to the window to look out on the window on the haze that was hanging over this city. He hated this town, the smog, the freeways, there was no way he would want to spend several weeks here, and he had even less desire to let her stay out here without him. After more than twenty five years, he found he could not sleep unless she was next to him, which was not easy for him to admit.

"EJ, I know you don't like it here, but we could go home on weekends, and your office can keep in touch with you here..we can see Kacie more easily..and I ..."she saw the stubborn set of his jaw, and slowed down her movements to capitalize on the fact that that at fifty five, he was still a man of tremendous sexual appetites. He was no longer looking at her face, his eyes had moved lower to the sway of her hips as she took his hand and placed it on the top button of her dress. "would be willing to bet we could find lots of things to do out here..I mean you have never been to Disneyland..and that is a shame..you have never seen Frontierland,"her hand moved his to her breast, and when he involuntarily caressed it, she closed her eyes in pleasure.

"And there are the other sites you need to see once in your life as well, I mean there is the Hollywood Bowl," she move his hand to the roundness of her buttocks as she gave him a tour of all he would see if he would only agree to this one little wish of hers"

As they began to dress once more, she was calling the house to arrange for some more clothing to be sent out on another plane. Blowing a kiss at EJ, she skipped out to the elevator for her meeting with HR at the studio to fire her excutive producer Stanley Dryman, and take over from him. This was going to be so much fun!

EJ ran a comb through his tousled hair, straightened his tie, and called Harris to arrange his teleconference meeting. Then since he was going to be forced to stay in this hell hole of a city, he made some more calls. If he had to be here, he wanted to be able to breath without inhaling this chewable air, so he wanted to be on the waterfront. Looking up the brokers for some livable vessels took more time than concluding the deal on the one he was going to move them into that very day. If Samantha could make demands, then so could he. For the time they were going to be in Southern California, they would live on the very comfortable looking mid sized yacht that was moored in Santa Monica Pier. He was certain she was going to love it!

**Chapter VI**

Her message light was blinking when she got home, so after she meticulously hung her jacket, fixed a cup of tea, and opened her mail, Kacie pushed the button so she could verify what she already knew.

"Hey, Sis, Grant and I are in town for a two day layover, staying in 423 at the Fairmont, give us a call, we want to meet for dinner tomorrow night..you know Grant and his seafood fixes..plus Mom and Dad are on there way here as well, they have to go back to L.A. the same night though, but they wanted to have dinner with us as well..so call me!"

Sighing, Kacie knew it would not be a good evening out for her now. It would be lovely to see her sister, and her mother and dad, but Grant was another story. From the moment she had first met him he had made her uneasy. He was someone she had not been able to read, and that bothered her for some inexplicable reason. It seemed to her that he was not right for her sister, and the feeling went in both directions. Jess had even once accused her of snobbery, "Do you dislike him because he works as a flight attendant, and I am a pilot?"

"To tell the truth, I never even thought about his work, but does it bother you, I mean you brought it up, not me?" and when she looked at her sister, it was plain to see, it was something that bothered Jess. "If I were you, Jess, I would not let that worry you. Grant will do alright in life, of that I am sure." Kacie had no basis for this from what she could read about him, but she still had the feeling. Her sister had looked at her puzzled when she said this, but it had hit a nerve.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Sis, I love Grant just the way he is!" and quickly the subject had been changed. Kacie had wondered then what exactly her sister did feel for Grant. Something strongly told her it was not a love that could sustain her, or make her feel alive like the love they saw with their parents.

"Oh man, this is the best bread in the world!" EJ smiled as he slathered his slice with another cube of butter. Both EJ and Grant had asked the waiter to bring a second, and then a third basket of the San Francisco specialty. Sami looked at the two of them with envy. EJ still was the same weight he had been when he married her, seemingly with no effort at all, and Grant just naturally was built trim. The five of them were dining al fresco at the Wharf, and about to be served the first bottle of wine when the cell phone in Jess's purse began to ring. "Oh, no! Yes, of course, just let me get a cab over there now!"

Grant knew the look well, and offered to ride with her to the airport, it was a case of another pilot taking ill, and Jess was the only one in the area. It was her job, and her duty to get there as quickly as possible!

"No, you have to stay here and get Kacie back to Oakland, and Mom and Dad to their plane, I will take a cab to the Fairmont and then on to SFO! Man what perfect timing!" Jessica was dependable to a fault, and in forty five minutes she was in the cockpit, doing pre flight.

It put a damper on the night, but the meal was still wonderful. Kacie had ordered up a full king crab, lustily going after the crustacean delight, and had not noticed the little dribble of butter that traced its way down her chin. Grant did, and picked up a linen, without thinking about it and wiped it off. Her eyes had met his and for the first time he saw how gentle she looked when her lashes swooped down to shadow her cheeks. It was so sudden, the little tingle he felt, and he quickly removed his hand from her chin, uncertain of why he should feel this spark.

What gave him a tingle, was something else entirely for Kacie. She had felt it down to her toes, and the fluttery feeling in her stomach was something she had never felt before. Kacie never even thought about men, it was her work, her parakeet, and that about summed up her life. She had never even really dated before. Her time in college was full of studying, and she was too young to be considered by the men at Berkeley. Now she was aware that a man could awaken feelings within her, but why did it have to be her own sisters boyfriend that had done this to her.

Several bottles of wine later, both of them had seemed to have forgotten the moment. When the check was presented, EJ had looked at the time, and cursed! "Damn, this was fun, but we need to get back..look..Grant..can you see Kacie home, and Samantha and I will just get to the airport on our own!"

And that was how another soap opera story began. It was so totally innocent, Grant hailed a cab to see Kacie back to her apartment in Berkeley, and in the darkness of the cab they had started a conversation. It took only a few minutes for Kacie to know what Grant wanted out of life, and where he was headed. He could not believe how easy she was to talk to, and he opened up about how his dream was to start his own restaurant, as cooking and food were a passion for him. This was something he had never talked about with Jess, but for Kacie he was laying it all in the space of a twenty minute ride. Which should have been all it took, until the unfortunate accident on the bridge that stretched it out to two hours.

"Well, maybe we should not have anymore, but I did save the last of the wine from dinner," Kacie had rummaged in her large handbag to bring out the last bottle of Pouilly Fouisse which had been opened, but not consumed. She handed it over to him and he removed the cork, taking a big swig, before giving it back to her. Once again, she dribbled, and once again, he had his handkerchief out to wipe it up. Except he did not use it, instead he kissed the spot where the wine was glistening on her chin, and she was lost. Her experiences with kissing had mostly been on her wrist! That was how her young friends had told her was how to practice. But this was not her wrist, and the heat melted her insides. Her hands found themselves clutching at him, and his hands found places that increased the heat as well as made her mind shut down as to what she was doing..when the cab reached her building, Grant had thrown several bills at the driver, and pulled her out, kissing her to him once more.

It took only a few minutes to get inside, and after that, no other thoughts entered either of their minds except to fufill this ache that was rapidly killing both of them

If she had been able to think, Kacie would have been shocked to admit that as she enjoyed her first time making love, the fact that it was with her sisters fiancé was blanked out from her mind!

Authors note:

Oh dear, not many perfect scores so far on the tests lol..

1. What was the pet that Ace wanted his parents to acquire for him (meas for the crown)

2. What was the outfit Sami wore in Germany that EJ loved ?

3. Where was the prison that they had to break Kristen out of for  
Stefano?

4. Where does old man Brady die?

5. How did Caroline die?

Now these are easy!

**Chapter VII**

Eva had fallen asleep, but Ace had not minded that her head had fallen to rest upon his shoulder. He surmised she must have gotten more used to his smell by now, and he held still enough for her to rest as he read the book he had started the day before. The bus was on a stretch of road that was fairly smooth, she seemed to have finally relaxed a bit after she had a bit of food in her ,and to him it was as though her face became more softly defined as it went in and out of the shadows of the trees lining the highway.

The dress she was wearing opened up a bit at the collar, and it slid a bit under her collarbone. When it did, Ace could see the huge bruise it had covered up. The injury was mottled, purple, yellow, as well as green while mixed with a vivid red as well. Someone had obviously beat her quite severely, since as he looked at the inside of her arm, the imprints of a hand, with fingers that had dug into her flesh was visible as well. Now his interest was piqued, so he began a more thorough assessment of her while she softly sighed in her sleep. He looked to the floor and saw that she carried with her only a small rather worn looking handbag, and a bundled and twine tied cardboard box that carried her belongings. Whatever she did own seemed to be in that box, and it was not much. Just before the bus pulled into the Buenos Aires station, she started and awoke with his eyes still upon her, and she felt his stare falling upon the exposed flesh of her collarbone. She quickly adjusted the dress, and bent to arrange her belongings so she could get off the bus and find a way to get away from his probing stare.

"How did that happen?" his voice was soft, waiting for the lie he knew she was thinking up even at that moment.

"Umm..I was working on the dairy, and a cow kicked me!" That was believable enough she figured, what would he know of cows?

"Nice try, but did the cow have an opposable thumb as well?"he was looking pointedly at the marks on her underarm area.

The angry look she shot at him was punctuated by her sharp cry of pain as she bent to retrieve her box as the bus hit a bump, and she was forced to move her arm to steady herself.

"Are you alright?" he was now more concerned about what else she was covering up, as he saw the bright sheen of painful tears brimming up in her eyes. Physical pain was not her only problem, he could see real fear in her face as well.

"Just let me be, I will be fine!" The bus had pulled up into the terminal, and now all the passengers were trying to be the first ones off, Eva was trying as well, but Ace decided he would just as soon wait for everyone else to alight, and by not moving from her way, he decided the same thing for her. His actions were plain to her, so she just sat back in the seat, she would wait as well, but she was not looking or speaking to him again/

"Where are you going to be staying?" his question was answered by silence. Once again he looked at her, and decided she probably had not the money to stay anywhere.

"Do you have some relatives picking you up?" he looked past her out the windows of the bus, and could easily make out that no one seemed to be waiting for anyone to get off this bus now.

She was trembling as he kept probing and probing, not letting her catch up to his questions as he asked them,but would figure out the answer for himself as her reactions would register. Finally he seemed to put it all together, after looking at her hands and seeing the small white line where her wedding band had been removed, and the tan of her skin had stopped.

"Was it your husband who did that to you?" he pointed to the collar area, and the bruised skin on her arms. "Come with me, it should be looked at by a doctor, let me help you, something might be broken!" It was still his choice to move or not move and let her out of the bus without a scene, and she gave up, nodded, and let him lift her things out with him.

The little clinic office was not much, but the doctore was kind and gentle. When he came out to Ace he told him that with a few days rest, she would likely be fine. The collar bone was not broken, just badly bruised, although one rib was cracked and he had bandaged it up. The bill took almost all the cash Ace had on him, and he could see he would not have access to his ATM as he had used up his whole allowance for the day.

"Justin? Ace here..yes I made it in..look I am in a bit of a pickle here, I planned on staying at a hostel, but something has happened..any chance me and a friend can bunk with you tonight? But I really need a bed, not a bed roll situation, I can explain when I get there. Now for the other favor, can you send someone to pick us up? " when he gave him the address, Justin had shook his head..trust Ace to end up in a part of Buenos Aires where you could lose your life along with the contents of your backpack.

"Look, stay inside at the restaurant and bar on the corner, that is not a good place to hang out..I will be there in half an hour!"

Ace looked around him, and for the first time he noticed what his brother was talking about. Eva had been given a couple of pain killers by the doctore, and she was finally smiling again. When a couple of the local youths began to walk towards them, Ace placed his hand on the small of her back and walked her quickly to the restaurant door.

"Umm order what you like, but when it gets here, eat really slow until my brother gets here and can pay for it..understand?"

"Thash a lovely offer Ash..I am really hungry..can I have something to drink as well..I would love a beer! Or two maybe..I have not had a beer in like a year.."

Ace gave the order to the waiter who promptly brought back two mugs of beer, but found once he went to the restroom and came back, she had drank both of them down.

"You should slow down on those..especially with the pain killer the doc gave you.." but the waiter was arriving with another set of mugs. Her hand had already reached over and she was taking a healthy swig before he could stop her.

He ordered Empanadas for both of them, admiring the efficient dispatch she made of the food. Once done, she licked her fingers, before looking at him shamefacedly.

"If I had not given you that sandwich today, can you please let me know how long it has been since you have eaten? You seem like this is your first meal in a week!"

"About that yes, um is that man your brother? You don't look much alike, but he seems to be heading for us!" When Ace turned, she quickly took hold of his mug and drained it.

The brothers embraced each other, Ace whispering into his ear, and turning to introduce his brother to his traveling companion. Justin picked up the tab, at the same time Eva stood to offer her hand. Ace saw the direction she was falling in, and not skipping a beat, he was ready as she fell into his arms, with her eyes closed.

"Ok, brother, I see you still keep your women on the edge of their seats with excitement!" Justin waited for the change from the waiter, putting the tip on the table, and motioning for Ace to follow him out the door to the waiting car.

"This is not like you think, she may have had a couple of beers too many along with the pain meds.

"Wonderful..she is drunk and drugged..Good work Ace! Mom would be proud of you!"

"Shut up..just get us to a bed..I am beat."

"No problem, bed coming up!"

Authors note:

Sorry I did say these would be multiple choice:

1. What is the machines name that keeps people alive a. Eagle b. phoenix c. turtle

2. what disease did EJ maybe cause to happen in Chez Rouge a. chickenpox b. herpes c. e coli

3. Who took Lexie to Tony a. Abe b. Tek c. Theo

4. Where did Sami and EJ have a family holiday in England which included a beach picnic a. St. Ives b. Southhampton c. Blackpool

5. How did Sami kill the last member of the council she was ordered to:

a. gunshot, b. knife...c. poison tipped horse crop

**  
Chapter VIII**

"I have had it! What is this? A flophouse for people you pick up off the street Justin? I swear if you don't get in there and get that man out of my bathroom I am leaving you right this minute!" Jillian stood with the towel she had wrapped around her before stepping into the bathroom to find Ace just stepping out. He was naturally uninhibited, it came from having to share showers with lots of people of both sexes as he had traveled around. He has stood there, not covering his nakedness, just smiling at her in a form of greeting. His main interest in showering was to remove the travel grime and all he had done when he saw her enter, was ask if she liked the water really hot, as he would leave it on in that case!

Justin surveyed the scene, glad that Ace had decided it was time to pull a towel off the rack and pull it around the lower part of his body. However Jillian was not going to be placated. This was her personal bathroom in the house, and even the servants asked her permission to enter to clean it. Justin had indulged the womans petty little quirks, since she had a few other qualities that he found quite pleasing. Today, though, he was not quite as patient with her, since his brother was a guest in his house Jillian did not own it, as she seemed to act like, and along with a couple of other reasons, Justin was as willing for her to leave as she was to threaten it.

"WELL?" her dainty little foot tapped in agitation as she waited for Justin to just do her bidding. Ace looked down, not giving even a glance as he seamlessly slipped on a softly tailored pair of jeans, and a white button down shirt.

"Where will you go Jillian? I can have your things sent over..perhaps call Kyle? I think at the last race you and he seemed to be getting along pretty well.." Justin was not kidding, and neither was she, as she snatched the cell phone from his hand and in minutes was making arrangements to have Kyle pick her up. To her, it was time to move on, and Kyle Brandter was the new star of the tracks. Jillian was the trophy all of them aspired to as well.

Turning in a huffy way, she made for the end of the hall to the room she shared with Justin..Ace of course was enjoying the whole spectacle, not resisting the urge to put a part of his foot on her towel and bringing the whole thing down to the floor. To her credit, she was non plussed, her grey eyes just glared at the two brothers as she deliberately picked it up, facing them frontally as she re wrapped the bath sheet and continued on her way.

"You are a bastard! I guess we both are too much like our Dad! Really, she was getting to be a pain..so I am glad you decided you liked her bathroom best..however is there something wrong with your in your room?"

At that moment, Eva emerged from the bedroom, her hair still a bit damp, as her fingers deftly redid the braids she had been wearing. She was again wearing the same dress she had traveled in, and both Justin and Ace noticed it. She saw them inspect her, as she could tell that Ace had changed into more fashionable clothing. The jeans he was Her slight embarrassment was not lost on either of the brothers.

"Eva, we met last night, but you may have been to..uh..tired to recall. I am Justin Wells, Ace and I are brothers. Welcome to our home, this house does belong to Ace as well, he just spends most of his time elsewhere..Did you sleep well?" Justin had the natural grace of his father in times like these, and Ace was almost in awe of how well his brother was doing to make Eva comfortable. Then Justin slipped in his coup de grat..."I am sorry, but we seem to have left your luggage behind..and in Buenos Aires, the thieves are all around..so I have taken the liberty of having some clothing sent over from one of the stores. It was of course Ace's idea.." Justin covered up for his brother and Ace let him do it while agreeing with everything said.

Eva was not saying anything, but the night in a bed, along with a shower and the medicine for her pain had lightened her mood considerably. She had some time to think about her situation, and for now, it was as if she had landed in a butter crock. All she wanted now was...

"Breakfast? Listen, the clothes are in the closet in your room, please change and the servants will get yours and see that they are laundered. You and Ace go eat, I have to get going to the track and see what my mechanics have managed to hash up with my number two engine!"

When Justin walked in to the garage, Lou was head to head with his newest mechanic, but the sight of her rounded bottom as she bent to the task at hand was another irritation to Justin. The morning breakup had his attitude towards all women tending to mysoginistic, and her natural perkiness was not helping matters!

"There you are! Lou and I have been waiting for hours! We wanted you to hear this..come here!" her smile was wide, with even white teeth. Some of her dark hair had escaped from the triangle scarf she had secured it with. Justin scowled, after the morning he had just gone through, perky was not what he wanted. Ignoring her completely, he turned his attention to Lou.

"Will number two be ready for action?"

"I just told you, listen to it, come here". She was jumping up and down in her excitement, when he coldly turned to her.

"When I address you, I assure you, there will be no doubt of it, right now, I want to hear from my lead man. When you are lead man, I will let you know, but lead man usually connotates a man is involved." His voice was flat, but cold..leaving no doubt as to his disdain for her abilities.

Her face became still, but she calmly took a rag to wipe her hands after dipping them into the degreasing goop. She took her time, swiping each and every finger while Lou looked at her saying nothing. Justin took it in, close to admiring the dignified way she was handling it, but still glad he had shown her what her place was.

"You know how to reach me Lou, if you have questions." With that, she picked up her handbag and walked out, not looking back for a moment.

Lou released the hood catch, covering the engine housing with a slam.

Then he faced Justin to let him know the why and wherefore of what had just happened.

"I sure hope we can convince her to come back, since she is the one who put this damn thing together. She knows every nut and bolt in this thing, she machined each one, she put it together, she stayed up all night making sure it would purr like a kitty. Justin, if she walks, you may have some big problems if number one fails".

The man who Justin trusted with his life and his livelihood was now disgusted with his boss, he had chosen Phaedra, only to find out that his judgement was being called into question. Justin had never doubted him before, and it hurt.

Justin heard the slam of the door as she had left the building, and common sense returned to him. He ran out, seeing her get into her car, as she roared her engine to life, screeching out of the parking lot, and Justin saw his only recourse was to run to his own car and catch her up! Within seconds, as they both weaved in and out of the city traffic onto the mountain road ringing the city, he saw it would not be as easy as he had imagined.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Silver Thread, A Golden Needle**

Prologue: Samantha and EJ are approaching the date of their 25th wedding anniversary. Each of their children has planned for the day in a special way. It will be a day of love, and laughter, as well as suspense!

**Chapter I**

"Ok EJ, I swear! I am flying out to Hollywood and I am personally going to fire that man! Look at these ratings? They have never been this low in the history of "Our Lives, Our Days! What are they doing? How could they have taken a top rated show and just ruined it! All my characters are being destroyed! Sabrina has been turned into some kind of wimpering rescue me clinging vine every third episode! This is not who I ..I mean Sabrina is..it won't work, and it has to change!" Sami had the latest copies of Variety, as well as Soap Opera Weekly and Soap Opera Digest in her lap, while the latest Nielsens looked as bad as they possibly could.

"Darling," EJ was attempting to be soothing to her, but he was going to have to admit she had a point, "now look, he had to clean up the prior writers mess as well, so this may take a bit of time!"

"We do not have that kind of time EJ! Look, a lot of peoples livelihoods' depend on this show..what gave him the balls to come in and think he knew it all! Hell, even Logan Sheffler finally listened to me! I wish he had survived the earthquake..why do the good die young?"

"Ok, ok, don't upset yourself! Go to Hollywood, but make sure you have it all set up just how you want to do these changes..part of the problem has been the show seems to have lost its sense of direction..I agree with you there, but since you are the heart of this show, in Sabrina, I think you can make it work again! Take one of the Mythic Jets, and if I can break free, I may join you for a couple of days. You know how much I love Las Angeles!" The grin she gave him let him know how much she understood him, as really, there was no place he detested more.

"And maybe while we are out there, we can make it up to San Francisco and pop in on Kacie. You know, surprise her!"

He looked at her, and grinned. "Surprise her?"

"Ok, I will call her and let her know that of course she is right, we will be coming by!"

Kacie was now part of a study going on at the University of California in Berkeley, on the reasons and why fores of extra sensory perception. Her abilities had been doubted, but after much study and analyzing, her department heads were beginning to understand why she felt this was just an area of the mind that everyone had to ability to access, just not the opportunity. Her work was now zeroing in on what was needed to sharpen this skill for the general population!

At this moment, she had been busily entering data into a computer program when she got the thought, and nodded happily. Yes, it would be so nice to see Mom and Dad for a day or so if they came into the City. When the phone at her desk buzzed her, she did not bother to look at the caller i.d., just picked it up to cheerily say, "Hi Mom!"

"Hi sweetie, how did you know it was me?" but as soon as she asked the question Sami laughed at herself. Kacie was a natural wonder. "Never mind, don't answer that! I am coming out to ..

"Hollywood?" finishing her mother's sentence.

"Stop that please!"

"Oh, Mom, come on, I have been taping the show and knew you would not be happy with what they have done lately!"

"Well can you blame me? I mean how can they make you out to be some kind of evil scientist out to steal your sisters boyfriend?"

Giggling, Kacie interceded once more, "Mom, if I have to be a character in your soap, I would rather be the mean one, I mean how can my character end up as a Diva like Sabrina unless she gets to be bad!"

"Well, in that case, if you want to be the bad one, I will see that you are my sweetie! But at least you can be a bad one with good writing, good hair, and a better wardrobe!"talking with Kacie had restored her mother's good humor. The little girl who once cut off her pigtails and got the family chased into a lake by a bear was now a college professor, having been a child prodigy growing up. She had graduated from University at the age of fourteen, eight years ahead of her older brother and sister. They had both sat proudly with their parents at her commencement along with her own twin brother Ace, and the other members of the household. Tippin, Lorene, and Nanny all had places of honor, with Nanny now being in charge of making sure Roman was comfortable in his wheelchair, and that he could see everything going on, whether or not he understood it all.

"Is Boseph here?"In the midst of all the noise, and the crowd of the commencement crowd Roman had been confused, and mixed up his younger brothers name a bit. Nanny took it all in stride, never letting her patient have a moment of worry, she would reassure him that Bo was indeed coming, and would be sitting right next to him. After that, he had contentedly listened to the music, smiling at his daughter and grandchildren.

Both her mother and Kacie were now looking at the identical picture, Kacie had it on her desk, and Sami had it on the wall. It was the picture of her graduation. She had been so young, and not even as tall as her mother in the picture. Her hair was still cut in a no nonsense wedge, long hair had been a bother to her, but the confidence she exuded came out in the picture. Sami and EJ had stood with her, the rest of the family and household members surrounding them like a cohesive halo.

Justin was as tall as his father, with the same aristocratically handsome face. His choice of career had worried his mother, but delighted his father, and he was even now in Argentina racing in a professional circuit. Jessica was of course a stunning blonde, her hair falling to her waist in waves of wheat colored beauty, but her life was now far away from Salem as well, as a pilot for British Airways. She had achieved her dream as well. Ace was still the family nee'r do well. He had taken out three years ago to explore the world on his own, and except for the occasional letter and even rarer phone call, he was on his own adventure. A nineteen year old had left to the wails of protest of his mother, but the complete understanding of his father.

Sami looked at the picture long after she had hung up from Kacie. This was the family she had dreamed of having for so many years when she had been growing up. When EJ came over to place his arms around her, gazing at the picture as well they both knew a sense of contentment in a life that had not gone stale, just well aged like fine wine!

Authors note: last one of this series, and I hope it concludes with finally what we all want,,an EJami love story starting!

For fun, as I had to go back through these stories to look up stuff, I am going to put a quiz in here for those of you who have read them all..each chapter will have a little question or two from prior installments..see if you remember..I mean this has been a year long journey!

1. what was the name of the first book Sami authored?

2. what horrid food does EJ like?

**Chapter II**

Ace slung the backpack over his shoulder as he climbed into the bus. In about six hours he would arrive in Buenos Aires, and give Justin a surprise. Looking at the program in his hand, he was proud to see his brothers' picture in a winner's circle photograph from the prior years Gran Premiro De La Republica Argentina! As he read details from the race, he saw that it was fifty three laps for about one hundred ninety seven miles, and the course was a twisty series of turns through the city along with a couple of straight aways where he knew Justin was never beaten.

Figuring he would get in too late to disturb Justin and his girlfriend, Ace decided he would find a hostel, and lay out his sleeping bag for the night. It was also time to take a shower, as he looked down at his clothes and rubbed the growth on his cheeks. It had been a few days, but he had jumped into that mountain spring yesterday, January was warm down here, and the water had been inviting and refreshing after his long day of hitchhiking with local famers. By now he spoke pretty fair Spanish, and could get by in Portuguese, as well as German, and when he looked up to see who he was sitting beside, a pair of beautiful green eyes looked back at him, which pleased him no end until her heard her whisper "voce cheira como pexes rotted".

He looked at her in surprise, but as he saw her eyes on his backpack with the flag of both American and Britain on it, he figured she probably took him for someone with no other language skills but English, and decided for her rudeness he deserved to have a bit of fun with her.

She was a redhead, her hair braided and coiled in a bun on top of her head. She was dressed like she was a country girl headed to the big city, a dress of flowered prints, with a big white collar. Her feet were encased in a pair of comfortable but yet serviceable sandals. When he looked at her hands, he saw she was not manicured, the nails looked as though they were accustomed to work. She was not one of the daughters of the wealthy who bought cheap land in Bolivia and Argentina, she was of working class stock. However, she seemed to feel she could look down on someone else who looked a bit worse for wear, and for that Ace was going to make her uncomfortable as well.

"Pardon, me ma'am, but I just have to get these socks changed!" as he said the words in English, he reached into his rucksack and pulled out a change of socks, while taking his old ones off slowly and deliberately, knowing they were exactly as she described, they did smell like rotting fish! He dropped them on the floor next to her feet, smirking as she quickly tucked her daintly clunky sandals under her seat, away from the pungent clothing. Seeing as he had not bothered her enough, he then pulled out a somewhat cleaner t-shirt than the one he had on. He put it to his nose, sniffed a moment, but decided to turn it inside out for a better presentation. The one he had on was removed, and he put the new one on, turning to her and asking in Portuguese, "est gua algum melhor fait?

Her face turned several shades of pink then blushed to complete rose as she realized he had understood her rude remark.

Her English was good, but heavily accented with the flavors of both Portuguese and German, as she stammered out, "I am so sorry..I have not been feeling well..I should not have been so rude, and I did not think that you would understand me of course, but that was another bad supposition on my part.."every word she was able to get out was stammered, and totally given over to embarrassment.

It was really a waste of breath. She did not need to say anything at all really, for Ace was now looking into her eyes, seeing them as so green that he compared them to some of the jade he had seen being mined in Bolivia, with lashes not coated with mascara, framed only with a fringe of the same auburn color that crowned her head. Her complexion had a smattering of freckles, but set against a skin tone that was almost translucent with its clarity and ivory tint. Once he focused on the movement of her lips as she talked, finally he heard what she was saying. It was an effort for him to refrain from putting a finger to her lips to see if they were as soft as they looked,

"I have been a little nauseated since yesterday morning, and I did not have time to find something to eat at the last stop..again, please do not mind me, I know how hard it is when you are traveling as you are, we get many students in this area, please accept my apology!"

Ace reached once more into his rucksack, bringing out a zippered bag which he set on the tray table from the seat. He winked at her, then brought forth some fruit, mango, grapes, and a couple of oranges. Rummaging a bit more, he produced three sandwiches of meat and cheese which did not smell like rotted fish to her at all. Her hunger rose up with the glands in her mouth, and she turned away. It would be impolite to stare at him as he ate.

"My name is Ace Wells, and if I am going to have lunch with you, I really would like to know your name."He began to divvy up the food, putting a sandwich and two fruits on her side, and the same on his. The third sandwich was put back with the other fruit. It might be awhile before they would get another chance to get off and find anything else. He also had a large bottle of water, which he poured into a metal mug. He gave her the bottle and kept the mug for himself.

"I cannot accept, you will need this for your journey..I will provision myself at the next stop.."

"Which the map says is three hours away, and has no services..just eat ok, I would not feel right eating in front of you anyway..all I want in exchange is your name and maybe some conversation to pass the time on the ride..is that too much to ask?" His smile twinkled at her, and for the first time she noticed how nice looking he was. He was tall, at least six feet, with blonde hair that was bleached almost white by the sun. The blue eyes that he used to wink at her were enhanced by the long dark brown lashes. Tanned, and wearing khaki shorts that showed the length of his long legs, he was like a lot of the American or British tourists she had seen pass through, but the hunger overruled her reticence and she gave in.

"My name is Eva, and yes, I would like to share your lunch, if you allow me to repay you with a lunch when we get to Buenos Aires then?'

"Deal, Eva, now do you want turkey or roast beef?"

Authors note: those questions were so much fun, I want to ask more! And they will be harder!

1. name of first person to die in the series? Who killed him?

2. name Sami's designer? Her publishing agent?

3. what did Samis engagement ring from EJ look like-what series did he give it to her in?

4. what feature does EJ like Sami's clothes to have and why?

5. where were Justin and Jessica born?

**Chapter III**

"What was the average running speed on that lap?" Justin removed his helmet, looking to his crew manager. When the number was flashed at him, he groaned. It seemed to slow down each time he ran it again. The course was one long straightaway uphill, one down hill, and those were where he was losing it. The curves were where he gained speed again, and nothing he tried seemed to work. They were going to have to reevaluate the race strategy.

"We have to eliminate one of these pit stops, that will make it up", Lou had been checking out the other cars who were getting faster times, and the only difference seemed to be they had gone to one fewer stop.

"Ok, put the harder tire on, I will give up the speed, let's try it and see if we get a better result." Justin walked around to shake the hand of his crew, and to thank them for the way they had hung around.

"Guys, we are gonna take this, and I don't want any of you to have any doubts, by the way where is Lorenzo? His eyes searched the crew to find one of his teams engine mechanics, but all of the crew looked at him sheepishly, before Lou stepped up.

"He quit on us today, but I have his replacement already, in fact she is already in the garage getting the back up tuned and ready."

Justin had been having problems with his lead machinic, but he was not prepared for the words "she" to come out of Lou's mouth, and even less prepared for the grease stained brunette who came bounding over to him, her eyes full of the admiration she had long held for the son of EJ Wells! He was almost as good as his Dad, and she had heard the stories from her father about how great he had been, to land this position was her dream come true!

Her hand was out in greeting, and her exuberance was out from her mouth and grating on his nerves before he had a chance to collect himself.

"Justin Wells, this is such an honor! And let me tell you that back up engine is on! If you need it, it is sooo ready..in fact I think maybe you might think about putting it in and letting us do a once over on this one before the race, I thought I heard a little something in this one that just does not sound quite right! I saw you in Hungary! But that track is so narrow and dusty, you may have gotten a little engine plug from the dust, so say the word and we can get it pulled and checked out..I would work overnight if needed, you just say the word! I mean this is such an honor..I told Lou my dad worked on your Dad's cars..you just ask your Dad..ask him about Stanley Schoefeld! He taught me everything he knew, and what he didn't know, I went to the Ferrari School..graduated top in my class.." as she kept explaining her Curriculum Vitae, his frown grew deeper in annoyance.

"Justin, this is Phaedra Schoefeld, and I have just put her on the crew, she has had some pretty good experience, and as she said, her father worked for your Dad in his day. I vouch for her work so far", Lou was not backing down from his choice as he saw the look on Justins face go from doubt to sheer irritation.

"How old are you?..uh..Phay..what was that again?"

Now it was her turn to be irritated. "Same age as you, I am twenty five, I started in the garages when I was twelve. It was where I wanted to be. So my Da' let me hang out and he taught me most of it, but then when I left grammar school I went into the Tech school for Ferrari. Tops in my class there..as I said..and the name is Phaedra. My mom was into mythology, but don't go looking it up and searching for similarities, it is just a name after all." Her accent was English, probably he guessed from the Midlands, no posh London accent like his present girlfriend, Jillian.

As she talked, her hands went up to redo the pony tail that held back her

mane of chestnut hair. Somehow this gesture made Justin even more upset, and he threw his helmet into the seat of his car and walked away.

Lou had watched this exchange with a bemused smile. Phaedra had come on to him just as strong, but when he set her the task of retuning the backup engine, as he watched her every move, he had to admire her skill, and just general ease and love of what she was doing. No nick or blemish on any part escaped her notice, and that was what was needed in this business, the eye for the small unnoticeable detail. She had convinced him, and it was his job to keep the crew slots full with the most competent people he could find. She filled the bill, and Justin would have to come around to his way of thinking, there just were not that many mechanics around. Lorenzo had not been reliable, his love of the late nights and the women had finally taken its' toll, his work had become sloppy. That was a way to kill someone in this business.

"Hey, you did great, and he is gonna see that soon, don't worry kid!" he put his arm around her shoulders and both of them watched as Justin made his way up to the young woman waving to him from the stands. Phaedra looked at her, a beautiful platinum blonde, she was wearing all white, her tight shirt ending in a knot on her tanned and toned midriff. When Justin had reached to hug and kiss her, she had pushed him away, then brushed off her white Capri outfit, the gesture said a lot, and Lou grimaced. "I have yet to see what he sees in that little bitch!"

Phaedra looked down at her greasy overalls, then to her hands with the blackened nails. She did not wonder what Justin saw in the woman at all..she had been used to seeing that type of woman around the tracks of the world all her life. Luckily, her father had married her mother loving her for the person she was, not some beauty queen, and his values were the ones Phaedra had listened to, so she had never been jealous of the track groupies, her sense of herself was strong.

Authors note: sorry for rushing this along, but I am kind of behind..if I am going to get this done by Mid Sept.

1. Name Tony's evil sidekick/henchman (note, this may have been Andres..lol just never revealed )

2. Name Lucas love interest in Africa

3. What country were Ace and Kacie born in?

4. What was the name of the revolutionary militant who captured EJ, Harris, Chandler, and Kate in Africa?

5. What was the country they were captured in?

**Chapter IV**

"Get up sleepy head!" Grant was pulling at the covers on Jessica's head, which made her burrow even deeper under. In this above all things she was her mothers daughter, and hated rising early. Her alarm clock was always set for three settings, the preliminary send off, the best get up now if you do not want to have to break speed limits getting to work, or now, what was going off and known as "the death alarm"!

When he saw nothing else was going to do it, he grabbed for the water glass by her bedside and dribbled it onto her face, then waited for the sputtering wake up that would mean he had to run for it.

"Grant, damn you! Why can't you just let the alarm do the work for you, I will get up when it finishes and you know it!" she reached for the cloth he was handing to her to wipe the damp from her face and hair, grabbing hold of her robe at the same time. Taking the cup of coffee he was handing over to her, she gulped the liquid then looked at the clock once again before gasping and running for the bath to shower and get ready. She was due out of Heathrow in two hours, and knew it would be close in the traffic this morning.

"We seem to be on the same schedule for the whole week, I am first cabin once more, but no layover for me, I turn right around. Looks like you get to spend another two nights in San Francisco..your sister will like that I bet."

"Grant, see if you can get someone to switch, we can take Kacie out on the town with us. Poor girl never has any fun, always doing that research stuff. She is way too serious."

"Jess, you know she doesn't do the club scene..what will we take her out to do?" Grant was not in favor of the idea, but laying over in San Francisco did have its' perks. He could taste the seafood and sourdough bread already. Pulling out his blackberry, he began calling other attendants who might take over for him. Success was his on the third try, as his friend and co worker Rowan had a wife who was expecting, and he liked the idea of coming home to her without having to stay in San Francisco.

He listened to the familiar sounds of Jess as she finished off her grooming routine in the bathroom. After two years, he knew how long she would spend in the shower, how long drying her hair and arranging it into the neat French twist at the base of her neck, as well as how long she would take to apply the bit of mascara, and lip gloss which were the only make up she would wear. Her blonde good looks did not need too much dressing up, and she would quickly don her captains uniform, putting on her hat last thing before grabbing her overnite case to be on her way out the door. It was considered bad tone for her to be seen with him in the area of the crews lounge, she was an officer, he a flight attendant, and the old rules of engagement were in strict force for British Airways.

It might have been nice to have woken a bit early and made love, it seemed as though it had been awhile now. Grant thought back a bit, until he looked at the calendar and saw it had been three weeks.

"Damn," he thought, "bad as married folks! I better talk to her about that, hell, wonder why she hasn't talked to me about it? He slipped his shoes on , and after a respectable amount of time to insure she would make it into Heathrow enough ahead of him to make it seem plausible that they did not live together, he went down to the garage to pull out his car and make his way in to work.

Jessica left her car with the attendant, and made her way into the airport faculty tunnel. Her brisk walk, and her trim attractive figure was not lost on many of the males, but she was unaware of all their stares. Her Dad was on the phone with her as she trotted along, and once again trying to make her an offer she could not refuse.

"But why Jess? You can be here and fly the company jets and make the same money as there..come home, your mom misses you! I miss you!" she smiled at the plaintive tone in his voice, but there was one person who he had not mentioned. Matthew, one of her fathers right hand men, and once upon a time her body guard and her hero was also man she had loved since she had been a child. Each time she returned home for visits and he would walk into a room, she had to fight to keep her eyes off of him. She knew hey would never even think about her that way since he was eighteen years older than her, but her heart could not stop what it felt. Matthew was someone it hurt to even look at, so she avoided the entanglement and the pain by just not going back to Salem very often.

There was a picture of the two of them on the wall, taken at a birthday party, when she was eight years old, he was holding her hands, while letting her feet rest on his shoes as he moved and let her dance with him. The look in her eyes was complete adoration, and if she could have lived forever in that moment, she would have been forever content. Then as it happened, he married Chelsea Brady, and she had even been in the wedding party as a junior bridemaid. Her fourteen year old heart had been broken, but only her sister had heard her crying herself to sleep that night.

"Dad, I am happy here, Grant and I are probably going to get married next year, or the year after, not sure really, and then we will buy a house, then give you and Mom some grandkids!"

"You know your mother will hate long distance grandmothering!"

"Ok, ok, on the grandmothering thing, we will have to work something out I know! Now I have to get onboard and do pre flight..so chill ok, and Kacie is having dinner with Grant and I tonight, so try and get to San Francisco with Mom, we can make it a fivesome!"

"Ok Trouble, that is a date. I will give Kace a call, and arrange to pick all of you up, one Limo with a sun roof..remember that in Las Vegas? How does that sound?"

"Daddy, I love you! Ok, call me at around five your time in California, Grant and I will check into the hotel and get a nap, you get Kacie, and pick us up at the Fairmont!"Crisply, she snapped her phone shut and gave a jaunty little salute to the attendant as she made her way down the jetway and into the cockpit.

"Authors note: So Kacie is a psychologist, Justin a race car driver, Jessica a airline pilot, and Ace is a world traveler. Sami is still involved in her books and the long running soap opera based on her first novel, and EJ is in charge of a lot of corporate entities, which may or may not be completely free of any dark and dangerous underpinnings ...

1. Name the families pet's names (both found in hearts and diamonds)

2. what were the names of the wives of Mondu? (rains of redemption)

3. How did Lexie and Kate kill Mondu?

4. Name the family household help (hint..there are 4 named)

5. Name the woman Austin cheated on Carrie with (Quality of Mercy)

I will give all answers when this is finished!

**Chapter V**

"Yes, put me through to his voice mail, and I will now leave the seventh message that he has not bothered to return." Sami was gritting her teeth, while EJ sat across from her, his long legs crossed while he smiled at her quiet determination. The car was waiting for them, but he had to feel sorry for the executive producer who had not taken or answered her calls. Two years ago, she had asked for and been given title to the ownership of "Our Days, Our Lives" from Mythic, but until this year, when another new writer had been hired, and his work had made the show noticed, but for so many wrong reasons, she had more or less let the show run itself. For over twenty years it had sailed along, winning emmys, among the top ten in daytime programming, with good sponsorship revenue going to both her and the network. Now it was next to last, hanging by a thread in the ratings over a show, "Impassioned" which was already on the cancellation list, and Sami was bound and determined to keep her show on the air!

"Samantha, I know you are angry, but are you sure you should terminate him until you have found a replacement?" when she looked at him, her eyes blazing he regretted introducing logical argument at this moment, for she was not going to hear it. EJ sighed, and went back to pulling the files he had to work on out of his folio.

"I have the meeting scheduled with HR as soon as I get there, if the bastard does not even want to take my calls, then I do not feel I owe him anything other than to buy out his contract!"

"Ok Darling, your call of course, but who do you think should take over his job until you do find a replacement?"

The look that came over her face did not make EJ feel exactly calm, her lips pursed, the red coating on them making tiny little folds, as her red tipped nails folded in an almost angelic way in her lap. Not good. He waited a moment, but knew beforehand what she was going to say, and tried in his own mind to line up the defensive arguments, or passionate consultation he would need to change her mind. Then she brought out the big guns.

"EJ, love," her body settled down upon his lap, as her arms went round his neck while her nose and mouth nuzzled into his ear, "It will probably take a lot of re writes on the show to bring it round, I have a lot of ideas, and I was forwarding them to Dryman, but he just was not listening to me..so how about we arrange to stay out here in L.A. for a few weeks, after he cleans out his desk, I can get with the writing staff, and the production crew, then I just know we can turn this around.." then she turned the smile on him that she knew he had never been able to resist in twenty five years of marriage..

"No". EJ stood, and steadied her so she would not fall. Then he walked to the window to look out on the window on the haze that was hanging over this city. He hated this town, the smog, the freeways, there was no way he would want to spend several weeks here, and he had even less desire to let her stay out here without him. After more than twenty five years, he found he could not sleep unless she was next to him, which was not easy for him to admit.

"EJ, I know you don't like it here, but we could go home on weekends, and your office can keep in touch with you here..we can see Kacie more easily..and I ..."she saw the stubborn set of his jaw, and slowed down her movements to capitalize on the fact that that at fifty five, he was still a man of tremendous sexual appetites. He was no longer looking at her face, his eyes had moved lower to the sway of her hips as she took his hand and placed it on the top button of her dress. "would be willing to bet we could find lots of things to do out here..I mean you have never been to Disneyland..and that is a shame..you have never seen Frontierland,"her hand moved his to her breast, and when he involuntarily caressed it, she closed her eyes in pleasure.

"And there are the other sites you need to see once in your life as well, I mean there is the Hollywood Bowl," she move his hand to the roundness of her buttocks as she gave him a tour of all he would see if he would only agree to this one little wish of hers"

As they began to dress once more, she was calling the house to arrange for some more clothing to be sent out on another plane. Blowing a kiss at EJ, she skipped out to the elevator for her meeting with HR at the studio to fire her excutive producer Stanley Dryman, and take over from him. This was going to be so much fun!

EJ ran a comb through his tousled hair, straightened his tie, and called Harris to arrange his teleconference meeting. Then since he was going to be forced to stay in this hell hole of a city, he made some more calls. If he had to be here, he wanted to be able to breath without inhaling this chewable air, so he wanted to be on the waterfront. Looking up the brokers for some livable vessels took more time than concluding the deal on the one he was going to move them into that very day. If Samantha could make demands, then so could he. For the time they were going to be in Southern California, they would live on the very comfortable looking mid sized yacht that was moored in Santa Monica Pier. He was certain she was going to love it!

**Chapter VI**

Her message light was blinking when she got home, so after she meticulously hung her jacket, fixed a cup of tea, and opened her mail, Kacie pushed the button so she could verify what she already knew.

"Hey, Sis, Grant and I are in town for a two day layover, staying in 423 at the Fairmont, give us a call, we want to meet for dinner tomorrow night..you know Grant and his seafood fixes..plus Mom and Dad are on there way here as well, they have to go back to L.A. the same night though, but they wanted to have dinner with us as well..so call me!"

Sighing, Kacie knew it would not be a good evening out for her now. It would be lovely to see her sister, and her mother and dad, but Grant was another story. From the moment she had first met him he had made her uneasy. He was someone she had not been able to read, and that bothered her for some inexplicable reason. It seemed to her that he was not right for her sister, and the feeling went in both directions. Jess had even once accused her of snobbery, "Do you dislike him because he works as a flight attendant, and I am a pilot?"

"To tell the truth, I never even thought about his work, but does it bother you, I mean you brought it up, not me?" and when she looked at her sister, it was plain to see, it was something that bothered Jess. "If I were you, Jess, I would not let that worry you. Grant will do alright in life, of that I am sure." Kacie had no basis for this from what she could read about him, but she still had the feeling. Her sister had looked at her puzzled when she said this, but it had hit a nerve.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Sis, I love Grant just the way he is!" and quickly the subject had been changed. Kacie had wondered then what exactly her sister did feel for Grant. Something strongly told her it was not a love that could sustain her, or make her feel alive like the love they saw with their parents.

"Oh man, this is the best bread in the world!" EJ smiled as he slathered his slice with another cube of butter. Both EJ and Grant had asked the waiter to bring a second, and then a third basket of the San Francisco specialty. Sami looked at the two of them with envy. EJ still was the same weight he had been when he married her, seemingly with no effort at all, and Grant just naturally was built trim. The five of them were dining al fresco at the Wharf, and about to be served the first bottle of wine when the cell phone in Jess's purse began to ring. "Oh, no! Yes, of course, just let me get a cab over there now!"

Grant knew the look well, and offered to ride with her to the airport, it was a case of another pilot taking ill, and Jess was the only one in the area. It was her job, and her duty to get there as quickly as possible!

"No, you have to stay here and get Kacie back to Oakland, and Mom and Dad to their plane, I will take a cab to the Fairmont and then on to SFO! Man what perfect timing!" Jessica was dependable to a fault, and in forty five minutes she was in the cockpit, doing pre flight.

It put a damper on the night, but the meal was still wonderful. Kacie had ordered up a full king crab, lustily going after the crustacean delight, and had not noticed the little dribble of butter that traced its way down her chin. Grant did, and picked up a linen, without thinking about it and wiped it off. Her eyes had met his and for the first time he saw how gentle she looked when her lashes swooped down to shadow her cheeks. It was so sudden, the little tingle he felt, and he quickly removed his hand from her chin, uncertain of why he should feel this spark.

What gave him a tingle, was something else entirely for Kacie. She had felt it down to her toes, and the fluttery feeling in her stomach was something she had never felt before. Kacie never even thought about men, it was her work, her parakeet, and that about summed up her life. She had never even really dated before. Her time in college was full of studying, and she was too young to be considered by the men at Berkeley. Now she was aware that a man could awaken feelings within her, but why did it have to be her own sisters boyfriend that had done this to her.

Several bottles of wine later, both of them had seemed to have forgotten the moment. When the check was presented, EJ had looked at the time, and cursed! "Damn, this was fun, but we need to get back..look..Grant..can you see Kacie home, and Samantha and I will just get to the airport on our own!"

And that was how another soap opera story began. It was so totally innocent, Grant hailed a cab to see Kacie back to her apartment in Berkeley, and in the darkness of the cab they had started a conversation. It took only a few minutes for Kacie to know what Grant wanted out of life, and where he was headed. He could not believe how easy she was to talk to, and he opened up about how his dream was to start his own restaurant, as cooking and food were a passion for him. This was something he had never talked about with Jess, but for Kacie he was laying it all in the space of a twenty minute ride. Which should have been all it took, until the unfortunate accident on the bridge that stretched it out to two hours.

"Well, maybe we should not have anymore, but I did save the last of the wine from dinner," Kacie had rummaged in her large handbag to bring out the last bottle of Pouilly Fouisse which had been opened, but not consumed. She handed it over to him and he removed the cork, taking a big swig, before giving it back to her. Once again, she dribbled, and once again, he had his handkerchief out to wipe it up. Except he did not use it, instead he kissed the spot where the wine was glistening on her chin, and she was lost. Her experiences with kissing had mostly been on her wrist! That was how her young friends had told her was how to practice. But this was not her wrist, and the heat melted her insides. Her hands found themselves clutching at him, and his hands found places that increased the heat as well as made her mind shut down as to what she was doing..when the cab reached her building, Grant had thrown several bills at the driver, and pulled her out, kissing her to him once more.

It took only a few minutes to get inside, and after that, no other thoughts entered either of their minds except to fufill this ache that was rapidly killing both of them

If she had been able to think, Kacie would have been shocked to admit that as she enjoyed her first time making love, the fact that it was with her sisters fiancé was blanked out from her mind!

Authors note:

Oh dear, not many perfect scores so far on the tests lol..

1. What was the pet that Ace wanted his parents to acquire for him (meas for the crown)

2. What was the outfit Sami wore in Germany that EJ loved ?

3. Where was the prison that they had to break Kristen out of for  
Stefano?

4. Where does old man Brady die?

5. How did Caroline die?

Now these are easy!

**Chapter VII**

Eva had fallen asleep, but Ace had not minded that her head had fallen to rest upon his shoulder. He surmised she must have gotten more used to his smell by now, and he held still enough for her to rest as he read the book he had started the day before. The bus was on a stretch of road that was fairly smooth, she seemed to have finally relaxed a bit after she had a bit of food in her ,and to him it was as though her face became more softly defined as it went in and out of the shadows of the trees lining the highway.

The dress she was wearing opened up a bit at the collar, and it slid a bit under her collarbone. When it did, Ace could see the huge bruise it had covered up. The injury was mottled, purple, yellow, as well as green while mixed with a vivid red as well. Someone had obviously beat her quite severely, since as he looked at the inside of her arm, the imprints of a hand, with fingers that had dug into her flesh was visible as well. Now his interest was piqued, so he began a more thorough assessment of her while she softly sighed in her sleep. He looked to the floor and saw that she carried with her only a small rather worn looking handbag, and a bundled and twine tied cardboard box that carried her belongings. Whatever she did own seemed to be in that box, and it was not much. Just before the bus pulled into the Buenos Aires station, she started and awoke with his eyes still upon her, and she felt his stare falling upon the exposed flesh of her collarbone. She quickly adjusted the dress, and bent to arrange her belongings so she could get off the bus and find a way to get away from his probing stare.

"How did that happen?" his voice was soft, waiting for the lie he knew she was thinking up even at that moment.

"Umm..I was working on the dairy, and a cow kicked me!" That was believable enough she figured, what would he know of cows?

"Nice try, but did the cow have an opposable thumb as well?"he was looking pointedly at the marks on her underarm area.

The angry look she shot at him was punctuated by her sharp cry of pain as she bent to retrieve her box as the bus hit a bump, and she was forced to move her arm to steady herself.

"Are you alright?" he was now more concerned about what else she was covering up, as he saw the bright sheen of painful tears brimming up in her eyes. Physical pain was not her only problem, he could see real fear in her face as well.

"Just let me be, I will be fine!" The bus had pulled up into the terminal, and now all the passengers were trying to be the first ones off, Eva was trying as well, but Ace decided he would just as soon wait for everyone else to alight, and by not moving from her way, he decided the same thing for her. His actions were plain to her, so she just sat back in the seat, she would wait as well, but she was not looking or speaking to him again/

"Where are you going to be staying?" his question was answered by silence. Once again he looked at her, and decided she probably had not the money to stay anywhere.

"Do you have some relatives picking you up?" he looked past her out the windows of the bus, and could easily make out that no one seemed to be waiting for anyone to get off this bus now.

She was trembling as he kept probing and probing, not letting her catch up to his questions as he asked them,but would figure out the answer for himself as her reactions would register. Finally he seemed to put it all together, after looking at her hands and seeing the small white line where her wedding band had been removed, and the tan of her skin had stopped.

"Was it your husband who did that to you?" he pointed to the collar area, and the bruised skin on her arms. "Come with me, it should be looked at by a doctor, let me help you, something might be broken!" It was still his choice to move or not move and let her out of the bus without a scene, and she gave up, nodded, and let him lift her things out with him.

The little clinic office was not much, but the doctore was kind and gentle. When he came out to Ace he told him that with a few days rest, she would likely be fine. The collar bone was not broken, just badly bruised, although one rib was cracked and he had bandaged it up. The bill took almost all the cash Ace had on him, and he could see he would not have access to his ATM as he had used up his whole allowance for the day.

"Justin? Ace here..yes I made it in..look I am in a bit of a pickle here, I planned on staying at a hostel, but something has happened..any chance me and a friend can bunk with you tonight? But I really need a bed, not a bed roll situation, I can explain when I get there. Now for the other favor, can you send someone to pick us up? " when he gave him the address, Justin had shook his head..trust Ace to end up in a part of Buenos Aires where you could lose your life along with the contents of your backpack.

"Look, stay inside at the restaurant and bar on the corner, that is not a good place to hang out..I will be there in half an hour!"

Ace looked around him, and for the first time he noticed what his brother was talking about. Eva had been given a couple of pain killers by the doctore, and she was finally smiling again. When a couple of the local youths began to walk towards them, Ace placed his hand on the small of her back and walked her quickly to the restaurant door.

"Umm order what you like, but when it gets here, eat really slow until my brother gets here and can pay for it..understand?"

"Thash a lovely offer Ash..I am really hungry..can I have something to drink as well..I would love a beer! Or two maybe..I have not had a beer in like a year.."

Ace gave the order to the waiter who promptly brought back two mugs of beer, but found once he went to the restroom and came back, she had drank both of them down.

"You should slow down on those..especially with the pain killer the doc gave you.." but the waiter was arriving with another set of mugs. Her hand had already reached over and she was taking a healthy swig before he could stop her.

He ordered Empanadas for both of them, admiring the efficient dispatch she made of the food. Once done, she licked her fingers, before looking at him shamefacedly.

"If I had not given you that sandwich today, can you please let me know how long it has been since you have eaten? You seem like this is your first meal in a week!"

"About that yes, um is that man your brother? You don't look much alike, but he seems to be heading for us!" When Ace turned, she quickly took hold of his mug and drained it.

The brothers embraced each other, Ace whispering into his ear, and turning to introduce his brother to his traveling companion. Justin picked up the tab, at the same time Eva stood to offer her hand. Ace saw the direction she was falling in, and not skipping a beat, he was ready as she fell into his arms, with her eyes closed.

"Ok, brother, I see you still keep your women on the edge of their seats with excitement!" Justin waited for the change from the waiter, putting the tip on the table, and motioning for Ace to follow him out the door to the waiting car.

"This is not like you think, she may have had a couple of beers too many along with the pain meds.

"Wonderful..she is drunk and drugged..Good work Ace! Mom would be proud of you!"

"Shut up..just get us to a bed..I am beat."

"No problem, bed coming up!"

**  
Chapter VIII**

"I have had it! What is this? A flophouse for people you pick up off the street Justin? I swear if you don't get in there and get that man out of my bathroom I am leaving you right this minute!" Jillian stood with the towel she had wrapped around her before stepping into the bathroom to find Ace just stepping out. He was naturally uninhibited, it came from having to share showers with lots of people of both sexes as he had traveled around. He has stood there, not covering his nakedness, just smiling at her in a form of greeting. His main interest in showering was to remove the travel grime and all he had done when he saw her enter, was ask if she liked the water really hot, as he would leave it on in that case!

Justin surveyed the scene, glad that Ace had decided it was time to pull a towel off the rack and pull it around the lower part of his body. However Jillian was not going to be placated. This was her personal bathroom in the house, and even the servants asked her permission to enter to clean it. Justin had indulged the womans petty little quirks, since she had a few other qualities that he found quite pleasing. Today, though, he was not quite as patient with her, since his brother was a guest in his house Jillian did not own it, as she seemed to act like, and along with a couple of other reasons, Justin was as willing for her to leave as she was to threaten it.

"WELL?" her dainty little foot tapped in agitation as she waited for Justin to just do her bidding. Ace looked down, not giving even a glance as he seamlessly slipped on a softly tailored pair of jeans, and a white button down shirt.

"Where will you go Jillian? I can have your things sent over..perhaps call Kyle? I think at the last race you and he seemed to be getting along pretty well.." Justin was not kidding, and neither was she, as she snatched the cell phone from his hand and in minutes was making arrangements to have Kyle pick her up. To her, it was time to move on, and Kyle Brandter was the new star of the tracks. Jillian was the trophy all of them aspired to as well.

Turning in a huffy way, she made for the end of the hall to the room she shared with Justin..Ace of course was enjoying the whole spectacle, not resisting the urge to put a part of his foot on her towel and bringing the whole thing down to the floor. To her credit, she was non plussed, her grey eyes just glared at the two brothers as she deliberately picked it up, facing them frontally as she re wrapped the bath sheet and continued on her way.

"You are a bastard! I guess we both are too much like our Dad! Really, she was getting to be a pain..so I am glad you decided you liked her bathroom best..however is there something wrong with your in your room?"

At that moment, Eva emerged from the bedroom, her hair still a bit damp, as her fingers deftly redid the braids she had been wearing. She was again wearing the same dress she had traveled in, and both Justin and Ace noticed it. She saw them inspect her, as she could tell that Ace had changed into more fashionable clothing. The jeans he was Her slight embarrassment was not lost on either of the brothers.

"Eva, we met last night, but you may have been to..uh..tired to recall. I am Justin Wells, Ace and I are brothers. Welcome to our home, this house does belong to Ace as well, he just spends most of his time elsewhere..Did you sleep well?" Justin had the natural grace of his father in times like these, and Ace was almost in awe of how well his brother was doing to make Eva comfortable. Then Justin slipped in his coup de grat..."I am sorry, but we seem to have left your luggage behind..and in Buenos Aires, the thieves are all around..so I have taken the liberty of having some clothing sent over from one of the stores. It was of course Ace's idea.." Justin covered up for his brother and Ace let him do it while agreeing with everything said.

Eva was not saying anything, but the night in a bed, along with a shower and the medicine for her pain had lightened her mood considerably. She had some time to think about her situation, and for now, it was as if she had landed in a butter crock. All she wanted now was...

"Breakfast? Listen, the clothes are in the closet in your room, please change and the servants will get yours and see that they are laundered. You and Ace go eat, I have to get going to the track and see what my mechanics have managed to hash up with my number two engine!"

When Justin walked in to the garage, Lou was head to head with his newest mechanic, but the sight of her rounded bottom as she bent to the task at hand was another irritation to Justin. The morning breakup had his attitude towards all women tending to mysoginistic, and her natural perkiness was not helping matters!

"There you are! Lou and I have been waiting for hours! We wanted you to hear this..come here!" her smile was wide, with even white teeth. Some of her dark hair had escaped from the triangle scarf she had secured it with. Justin scowled, after the morning he had just gone through, perky was not what he wanted. Ignoring her completely, he turned his attention to Lou.

"Will number two be ready for action?"

"I just told you, listen to it, come here". She was jumping up and down in her excitement, when he coldly turned to her.

"When I address you, I assure you, there will be no doubt of it, right now, I want to hear from my lead man. When you are lead man, I will let you know, but lead man usually connotates a man is involved." His voice was flat, but cold..leaving no doubt as to his disdain for her abilities.

Her face became still, but she calmly took a rag to wipe her hands after dipping them into the degreasing goop. She took her time, swiping each and every finger while Lou looked at her saying nothing. Justin took it in, close to admiring the dignified way she was handling it, but still glad he had shown her what her place was.

"You know how to reach me Lou, if you have questions." With that, she picked up her handbag and walked out, not looking back for a moment.

Lou released the hood catch, covering the engine housing with a slam.

Then he faced Justin to let him know the why and wherefore of what had just happened.

"I sure hope we can convince her to come back, since she is the one who put this damn thing together. She knows every nut and bolt in this thing, she machined each one, she put it together, she stayed up all night making sure it would purr like a kitty. Justin, if she walks, you may have some big problems if number one fails".

The man who Justin trusted with his life and his livelihood was now disgusted with his boss, he had chosen Phaedra, only to find out that his judgement was being called into question. Justin had never doubted him before, and it hurt.

Justin heard the slam of the door as she had left the building, and common sense returned to him. He ran out, seeing her get into her car, as she roared her engine to life, screeching out of the parking lot, and Justin saw his only recourse was to run to his own car and catch her up! Within seconds, as they both weaved in and out of the city traffic onto the mountain road ringing the city, he saw it would not be as easy as he had imagined.

**Chapter IX**

Jessica marked off another day on the calendar, noting it was now only twenty one days before her parents anniversary. She already had the week off, Grant had the time as well, so her father had arranged for the Mythic London jet to be at her disposal. She was going to fly it to Buenos Aires, get Ace and Justin, then to San Franciso for Kacie, and all of them would arrive in Salem for the big party set up at the pub. Everything was going to be perfect, she had seen to every detail. Now, she wondered if this would be the time to announce that Grant and her were formally engaged. It was about time, they seemed to suit each other pretty well. He was well liked by her father and mother. Ace had only met him once, but they had been bar b q buddies within minutes, while Justin had engaged him in talk of soccer and rugby. Funny, of all her family members only Kacie remained a bit standoffish to Grant. Jessica hope that somehow that would change in the future. Her watch showed it was now nine a.m. in the states, and a reasonable time to call him.

Kacie's eyes flew open as she heard the cell phone going off inside the trousers lying next to her side of the bed. Her eyes riveted on the pants, and then she was aware of Grant sitting up over her, also staring down at the pants. He reached over her to pick them up, and the skin to skin contact of their naked bodies reminded them both of what they had done. When he got the phone out, and flipped it open to answer, Kacie had flipped the covers over her head, praying that not one iota of her gift of second sight had seeped into her sisters genetic make up.

"Hey, yeah, it was a late night. How was the flight? Oh..dinner was wonderful, yes I took Kacie home, she is..was fine..just fine. Umm yeah, it is a nice place she lives in.."and for all of his initial nervousness, Grant found himself talking to his fiancé, while at the same time lifting up the sheet to once again look at Kacie as she huddled there naked. As he talked, his hand reached to stroke the softness of her shoulder, and he covered the small holes of the phones mouthpiece while his lips touched the skin of her upper arm. She shivered, then pulled the sheet to herself tighter, afraid to look at him, and definitely afraid of any sound she might make that would make her sister aware of her treachery!

Jessica spoke non stop for a few minutes, before saying she was tired, and needed to rest.

"Look, Grant, call Kacie for me, and remind her of the anniversary party for Mom and Dad. I have arranged for everything! Plus..what do you think of us announcing our engagement that night? You have time to get me a ring, by now you know what I like right, I will get you a credit card to put it on..nothing too elaborate, don't spend more than three thousand pounds!"

"Gee sounds so romantic.."as the details of how Jess had it all figured out were thrust upon him, Grant felt the room suddenly smaller. The relief he felt when he could finally shut the phones receiver and once again look down on Kacie was tempered by what he saw , her entire body was curled into a tight ball. It made him angry at himself for the way he felt, as once again he only wanted to feel her against him, and God help him, he could not shake the feeling.

"Kacie, don't cry, it will be alright, we just maybe had too much to drink, you know how it goes, just one of those things." But once he said that, he remembered that he had been her first. Crap. "Look, I didn't mean you know how it goes, like this was the only time you went,"again he hated himself for the clumsiness of his word choice. I know you are not going around like it is one of those things..Kacie, I am so sorry, this is all my fault not yours, but you are so beautiful, so soft, like velvet, and ..and.."he had to stop talking as she had turned to face him, while he reached to pull the sheet down as he looked at her, touching her once again.

The fire within her alighted as soon as she looked down to watch his hand circle and cup her breast. When his lips followed suit, she forgot her sister, and everything else except the feel of his hands and lips on her as she began to touch him as well. The phone dropped to the floor again, as he lay over her, and began to make the same magic he had done the night before within her. No, it had not been imagined by her, something had been awakened within her, and it was this man, and only this man who had this power over her. This was one of her insights , and it was strong within her. When the sounds of their lovemaking began, she was lost in that feeling, and unthinking of any consequences to come.

EJ gave his wife a slap on the tush, and she returned the favor when he got up, and walked in front of her. The gentle rocking of the boat as it was moored had let them both oversleep just a little. Though it had been a strange idea to her at first, if it meant EJ would stay in L.A. with her, it had been an easy enough accommodation to him.

"Ready to get into the studio and make your mark ladyio?" He handed her a mug of coffee he had brewed, and waited for her usual morning stretches she gave before answering.

"Sure, I can be ready in twenty mintues..listen, did it seem to you that Grant and Jess are just phoning it in now? I just did not get any 'I love you with all my heart' vibes.."sipping the coffee and looking pensive, she waited for his opinion.

"I think you read and write too many romance novels, they seemed fine to me." EJ was a typical man, since he was so happy with their life, he only knew this type of relationship, and was blissfully unaware of the lives of quiet desperation so many others endured when it came to love.

"Fine is not a fiery love story EJ, our girls and our boys deserve to have it all..I don't want them to settle! They need what we have, or life is not worth the bother! Whatever their destiny is to be, I want them to know love as I have known it with you! Nothing less for them!"she was fierce in stating what her children were deserving of!

Her arms went about his neck,looking down on him as he sat at the table, and the eyes that had looked back up at her for over twenty five years softened under her gaze.

"Yes, darling, I would wish nothing less on our children than what we have had, in fact, I want them to have more, but they have to find it, we cannot maneuver them into it, and if Grant and Jess are not meant for each other, I am sure they will find a way to prove or disprove their feelings..think about what might have happened if I had not moved into that apartment across from you..right now, you could be with either Austin or Lucas..granted, Will might still be alive, but you would not have our children.. our destiny was made by us, not some karmic fate written in the stars. We chose what we chose! We did not let our families make us bend to their way of thinking..I mean a Brady and one of the DiMera Clan..unheard of!"

"Yes, only think about it EJ, we both are satisfied with Grant, he seems like a nice young man, but when he looks at Jess, I don't see what I should see. When you and I became friends, I knew it was more..I could feel your eyes on me at all times, EJ..I hate to sound conceited here, but you devoured me with your eyes, Carrie saw it..Austin was a bit thick I admit, but what you felt was on your face..and I just did not see that with Grant and Jess.

Sami had a niggly feeling, and when she felt this way, she identified with Kacie. It was hard to imagine her daughter having to endure not just niggly feelings, but to actually be able to imagine them into being. Kacie was very careful now about the thoughts she would dwell upon. The energy involved in thinking about something often brought it about.

Kacie was at this moment trying to corral her thoughts as she poured a couple of cups of coffee for her and Grant. She had to quit thinking of the disaster she had perpetrated upon herself and her sister, while trying to find a way to fix it instead. She bustled about the apartment, straightening up the clothing from last night strewn about the floor, cleaning her birds cage, as Budgie rode about on her shoulders, her mind and her eyes kept sliding into Grant.

He was looking at her in amusement. Yes, this was a very silly predicament they found themselves in. Why did he not feel the least bit guilty?

**Chapter X**

"Lou, where the hell does this little bitch live, if I try and catch up to her, one of us, or some pain in the neck innocent by stander is gonna die!" Justin waited on the roadside til Lou looked it up for him, then used his GPS to map out a little quicker, as well as safer route to her rooming house.

Phaedra screeched into her parking area, and locked the door before running up the stairs to unlock the door to her room. The room was in shadows, and she was stripping off her coveralls the minute she shut the door. Turning her face to the window she shut the blinds tighter, while unhooking the front clasp on her bra and tossing it over her shoulder. All she wanted was a shower, a drink, and bed. The night had been long, and then to top it off with that bastard trying to humiliate her after all her hard work was enough to make anyone else cry, but Phaedra was not the crying type. She was the cursing type and as she yanked the cord on the blind so hard it came crashing down, she let loose with a string of them.

"Not very pretty language for a lady! Then I guess ladies who hang around in the racing pits probably learn to imitate what they hear, right?" Justin was sitting in the one chair in the room, twirling the scrap of her pale pink bra about his fingertips. When she had flung it, he had reached out one of his long arms to retrieve it.

The voice behind her startled her so much, she did not realize who it belonged to, then her first thought was to protect herself from whoever it was who had snuck into her room now seeing her nearly naked! Well if he was intending on raping her, this was his unlucky day! Her flip around to a karate stance was so quick Justin had no time to react before he found himself being flung against the wall with her kick, followed by a punch to his solar plexis taking away his wind then collapsing him into a heap on the floor. The pain was excruciating, but he was able to look up at her, while holding up a hand to stop her from giving him any more blows.

"Don't hit me again, please, I have to drive this week..." he was choking and sputtering the words out, while defensively holding his hands over his face.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing sneaking into my room? How did you even get in here?"Phaedra was not even aware of her exposed chest for a moment, until she saw where his eyes were fixated. He was making sure to keep his eyes safely behind his fingers, but he had spread them out enough to view what she was displaying. The smirk on his face came in spite of the discomfort he was still experiencing.

"I needed to come and talk to you..and as to how I got in, well the manager is quite the race fan, and a promise of a couple of passes got him to play loose with the key quite easily..now, would you mind putting on some clothes, even if I am in pain, it is quite distracting to keeping my mind on what I am here about!"

Her arms crossed over her chest, covering herself but she angrily denounced both the manager and him! "You are lucky I did not kill you, I am quite capable of doing it..I was taught by my dad very early on that I would be expected to take care of myself in situations like this..as you can see, I don't exactly live in the poshest part of Buenos Aires!" as she let him know how lucky he was, she continued on with her preparations for her shower. Pointing towards her counter, she indicated the bottles on the bar.

"I like gin and tonic, lots of lime, suit yourself, and I am going to take my shower if you don't mind. Whatever you have on your mind can wait til I am done." She made it into the bathroom, and Justin struggled up to his feet, and began doing the drinks. He looked about the small studio she was living in, and it really was not much more than a room. The sofa looked like it had seen better days, but was covered in a colorful afghan that looked hand crocheted. A clothes rack seemed to hold about four outfits, and two sets of clean work coveralls, she obviously was not a clothes horse. He figured it would take two truck loads to remove Jillians possessions, and maybe one more for her shoe closet.

Her small bureau held a picture, it was her and her father bent together over some racing car..she held a ratchet in one hand, and a beer in the other. For the first time he saw that she had jet black curls, not just a dark brown as he had barely noticed before. They cascaded down her back, contrasting with the bright yellow of the coveralls she had been wearing. Her father looked down on her smiling in uncontained pride. Justin remembered what a good man he had been, but when the time came to be moving on, he had decided it was time to just stop, and stay in one place for the sake of his family. Justin put it down when he heard the shower turn off. When she came back out, she was wearing a short peach colored satin robe, which reached to her mid thigh. It was cinched in at her waist with a white band, which he had to admit she looked pretty darn good in. She was tying her long hair back with a scrunchie, and looking him directly in the eye, not backing down a bit. Her hair fell down to just above her small waisted figure, though she was still quitefull breasted, which he had been given the opportunity to check out in the first few minutes of her kicking his ass. Now he saw that she had the eyes of an Italian, like her mother. So dark they were black, with long sooty lashes to match. If they had not been in a working relationship, he would have considered seducing her right then and there.

The scrutiny she was giving him was just as intense as the one he was giving her. Justin knew he was good looking, it was something many of the women in his life had commented on at one time or another, and he had his share of beautiful women on his arm. In that, he was a like his father had been before he met his mother. He was a bit of a rake, it came with the racing territory. So when she gave him the up and down, he did not flinch either. He knew he was tall, with a tan skin tone, a trim muscular build, eyes that were long lashed, and given to several different colors depending on what he was wearing at the time.

Once he allowed himself to really look at her, he had to admit she was the best looking mechanic he had ever seen. That was in itself a problem. How could she do her job if others thought the same thing?

"You don't have to worry about it, I am always professional". He handed her the drink, trying not to let her know she was correct in his assessment of her thinking.

"Lou says you are the best, I respect Lou, so I guess I will have to take your word on that..are you coming back?"

"I told you, I am a professional, just because you lost your professional perspective does not mean that I did. I am due back in twelve hours for a engine trial..and right now I need some sleep. I have been up the whole night. So..would you mind?" her head nodded towards the door.

"Can I finish my drink, and take just a minute to recover..you did work me over pretty good you know?"

"Well, then I have to go to bed, so when you think you can manage, let yourself out please, I am exhausted!" it took her a moment to unfold the sofabed, and without a second glance at him, her robe was removed, and she was under the cover, her breathing deep and easy within minutes as she slept. Her back was to him, but he admired the smooth skin of her bare shoulders. She certainly was not letting his presence bother her. When she said she wanted to sleep, she meant it. His smile now hid another desire, and he knew he would get what he wanted now sooner or later.

"Ok..little lady, this round went to you..but I may have to see if I can even up the score after this race is over.."Justin had decided maybe he could handle a little less professional distance just this once..what harm could come of it? Mechanics came and went all the time, as long as he did not let her get attached to him, it would just be a fling. Nothing to worry about, and he let himself out the door.

**Chapter XI**

The word had gone out to all the actors on set that the creator of the show was in the studio today. None of them had been exactly bending over the stairs to see everything that went on, but when Dryman had been escorted from the building, it had been hard to stifle the cheer that had been muffled around the work areas and dressing rooms. The loss of ratings under the man had been like a hole had opened up in the earth swallowing all the stories and the acting. He had never entertained anything but the tried and true, so when that turned to the stale and stodgy, he had not been able to react.

The lunch room was full and everyone was talking, waiting for her to make her appearance, and when she did, of course she made an entrance! A few eyes stole to the back of the room, and yes, there he was as well! EJ Wells, the famous race car driver, now a billionaire corporate financier, as well as probably the financial backing for this show. It was rumored he had a good share of the network stock, so if he was interested enough to back his wife, it was a good thing. She was still as beautiful as many of them had remembered from other times she had visited. Her figure a bit more rounded, but her hair still a platiumum halo that framed her face in a stylish a line cut. It was a face that was perfectly, but tastefully made up, playing up the brilliant blue of her eyes, and the softly maternal planes of her facial features could be both kind, or set in anger. Today, her face did show anger, until she looked over the ones who had over so many years worked their tails off to make this show a success.

"Hello, all of you, as most of you know, I am Samantha Wells, and I own the production rights to the show. Our Lives, Our Days, is a daytime drama icon! And even though we have been a little down on our quality for a while, I am here to tell you that it changes as of tomorrow! Our rewrites are on the table, and all of you will be given the scripts before you leave today! If all of you want to keep on working, I suggest you get them memorized as quickly as possible..I am going to be working closely the next few weeks with all of you, and with the writers, the set people..there are going to be a lot of changes going on!

EJ leaned against a wall, evaluating how her words were going down among the actors. He especially wanted to see how the resident Diva was handling this, but since she played Sabrina, and could totally identify with Samantha, all he saw her do was nod in agreement. When he saw the one who played the role that most fit his daughter Jessica look startled, he knew she would not care for the story line change. She played Justine, a real boring goody two shoes part, but Lisette Jasim liked it. This was a part that took no real acting ability on her part, and now it was being suggested that the part was going to go the anti heroine route, while the evil twin sister, Jenna, was going to be turned into the love interest for the hero. He saw the face of Estele Diaz suddenly perk up with excitement.

"Yes, we are going to have a bit of shake up of the characters going on here..this is what makes soaps come alive for viewers!" Sami had finished off her speech to mostly appreciative staff and stars, except that Lisette raised her hand to offer this observation.

"Um, Mrs. Wells, this all sounds wonderful, but the fan base for the Alex and Justine pairing..you know the Jexes..I mean they will hate this, we have been a pairing that has been six years in the making..how are you going to handle how they are going to feel about this?"

"Lisette, do you get copies of the Nielsens in your dressing room like everyone else does each week?"Samantha's foot was tapping in agitation, and EJ gave an involuntary shiver as he waited for her bombshell to explode.

"Yes, Mrs. Wells, of course".

"And do you read them?"

"Oh yes, Mrs. Wells, I certainly do".

"So you think that we should keep on putting a pairing together that hasn't managed to generate any excitement for the past six years, just to keep some lunatic fan base happy? Does that make good business sense to you? Do you want to keep your job here. I mean if you have other offers and would like to talk about release from your contract, please see me later..but for now, what do I plan to do about keeping the Jexes happy? I plan on seeing that the damn show goes on for a few more years and I can make them happy with putting you with a man on the show who can make it seem like you really are a couple in love, not a slurpy fest of teenage make out scenes! Meanwhile, I think your evil younger sister is going to make a great love interest for Alex, and we shall start with a scene of her making love with him, in a case of mistaken identity..so you will have to really put your game on..Jenna is a different type of sister, right Estella?"

The grin on her face was matched only by the chagrin on Lisettes face, but the rest of the ensemble stood to give Mrs. Wells a standing ovation when she was finished. It had been so long since the show had felt it had any life left to it, and just watching the embers die had been heartbreaking for the vets and most of the ingénue members of the cast.

"Ok then, I thank you all for your service and your commitment to the show, to your cast and crew mates, as well as to me! Please arrive with all lines memorized if you are to be shooting, otherwise, all I ask is that you give it your all..we are coming back ladies and gentlemen, I give you my word on that!"

**Chapter XII**

Ace figured it was because he had been pretty hungry himself that he had not noticed when they had shared the sandwiches on the bus, and when they had had the empanadas in the restaurant while waiting on Justin, he had been preoccupied with keeping an eye on all of the tough guys hanging around in the neighborhood, but as he watched this woman put the food away he had to express his admiration. He looked to the side of the table, making her stop in mid bite of the banana she was polishing off..

"What are you looking at? Did I drop something?" Her face looked downward to where his eyes seemed fixated on her legs.

"No I was checking you out for that hollow leg.."when he saw the blush of embarrassment spread on her face, he was sorry for making her feel badly, and immediately started to apologize. "I mean, I love a woman with a healthy appetite! I did not mean to make fun of you or offend you!"

"Please, don't, it is alright, you have been so kind, and I may have overstayed my welcome here..please tell your brother I will send repayment to him after I get my first salary from my employer, I promise to pay for lodging, and the food as well as the clothing, and here, I can even leave a little bit with you for him now. Oh sorry, and I will not forget you either, the doctore must have been so expensive! I will pay you back as well, just give me over the bill!"

Eva was reaching into the worn out handbag she carried with her as she spoke, and Ace was trying to find a way to stop her, even though the prideful way she spoke meant she was not into handouts.

"I do not want your money, but I would like it if you would please tell me the truth about how you were hurt..I can see you once wore a ring.." the telltale white band around her ring finger and the left hand was an indictment of her lie.

"Ok, you want a story..here it is..Yes, he did beat me, and I have left him, that is the entire story. I was not exactly what he wanted in a bride, but his parents made the arrangement with mine, and we both had tempers. I think though, he will think twice before doing that to anyone else..at least I hope I taught him a serious lesson!" She fingered the bruise, but a slight smile gave Ace another reason to be interested.

"So, tell me..I am all ears!"

"Aaah..well, the night before I left he came home drunk, and ordered me to get out of bed and make him something to eat. I did not want to, and he said I would, and he hit me. I decided it might just be easier to fix his food, so I did, but he was not satisfied with it, and hit me again. I knew the next day I was leaving, so I did nothing, all I wanted was for him to go to sleep. Then he decided he wanted his husbandly rights..so when he began to undress, I returned the favor, and hit him with the frying pan. He fell into the bed, and I got my sewing kit out. It took me about an hour, but once I had finished sewing up him within the bedsheets I went to get the broom. I think I hit him with the broom through the sheets until they were quite bloody, and he still kept trying to get loose, but at last he went down..I made sure he was breathing, then I took his truck and drove to the town to wait on the bus."

Eva told the story in a matter of fact tone, but to Ace it was the courage she had shown in righting her life that caused him to laugh aloud.

"Please, Eva, put the money away as brother would never accept payment for his hospitality, and as he says, the house is half mine anyway..I just don't choose to take advantage of it too much, I kind of like things free and easy! But you have a job here in the city already? I had no idea, what are you going to be doing?"

"Oh, I am to be a nanny to a family, they travel all over, and I will be going with them to care for the children. I am fluent in Spanish, German, Portuguese, English as well as French, so they took me on without even meeting me, only an interview over the phone! So I really must be on my way, they are not expecting me until tomorrow which is good, it will give me time to find a bus schedule and I can be there a day ahead and get to know the children!"

"A nanny? Oh, but how wonderful! My brother and sisters and I all had a nanny as well, she was such a wonderful woman, but she died a few years back, we all still miss her terribly! I hope you are as happy with your family as Bea was with us! Please, would you allow me to drive you there? It is not any trouble, and we can get a little more time to get to know one another..maybe on your off day we could get a coffee or spend some time in the park? There are beautiful ones in Buenos Aires!"

He read her face, she was hesistant, but it was also evident that she was wanting a friend and the warmth of his smile made her decide to leave her apprehensions aside, and take him up his offer. She did want a friend, it was undeniable.

The smile of acceptance on his offer lit up her face, and he was struck by the clarity of her beauty. Her face was sprinkled with a few auburn tinted freckles, but against a skin that was as pure as fresh cream, and small even teeth contrasting with pale pink lips. She wore no makeup at all, but her eyes still stood out, green as jade, with small yellow flecks like buttermilk flakes highlighting her

"Good, settled then. I will call down to the garage for one of the cars to be sent round. It has been a long time since I have driven in this city..prepare for a real adventure! It is much like driving in Paris, something Americans are advised never to do, as we are not ruthless enough..but my father taught all of us how to hold our own!" by the time they had made it two miles away with the top down, the five near misses, and three pedestrians who had cursed after them had her laughing with excitement!

The address she had been given was one of the tonier areas of Buenos Aires, nearly as nice as where Justin's house was, but older. The lady of the house was gracious to both of them, and allowed Ace to help her new nanny take her things up to her room. As he said his goodbye, Ace slipped his cell number to Eva, as well as the house number before he told her to call him on her first day off. Then he had said his farewells and went on his way to meet up with Justin. He did not notice the man across the street leaning on the post with the newspaper in front of his face. The man was covered in facial bruises, many of them in the shape of the wooden part of a broom handle.

**Chapter XIII**

The ringer on his phone went off as Ace pulled out into traffic, it was Jessica! He adjusted his earphone and turned up the volume, waiting to hear what news his big sister had to give him this time.

"Hey little guy!" the nickname she had given him and bugged him with for so many years was now an endearment he loved hearing her call him.

"I wanted to let you know everything is set for the party, and I have already spoken with Justin..so thank you for making it into Buenos Aires, that is going to make everything so much easier! And, there is going to be a big announcement made! "

Jessica was very close to her youngest brother, and in a sort of opposites attraction, the same feeling went with Justin and Kacie..by the time she had flipped her phone shut and continued on her way to the planes causeway, he was fully informed of the upcoming proposal from Grant, as well as the ring she had decided he should purchase for her, and the style of dress she thought would suit this wedding the best.

Very pleased with her efficiency, Jessica had taken a second for the sound of the male voice calling her name to penetrate her sense of euphoria, but when it had gotten insistently louder, she turned.

"Jessie, my God! I have been chasing you through the airport at top speed..I swear I am out of breath!" Jess looked up to see the close cut good looks of Matthew Lincoln, the head of her fathers security organization grinning at her in a way that she remembered from those ten years ago when her fourteen year old heart had broken watching him marry Chelsea Brady in St. Lukes Church.

Her heart had healed of course, since hearts of those tender years are among the most resilient. Within a few months, she had reestablished herself among the young high school boys who she would date and befriend through the years, but it never seemed that Matthew could enter her parents house or her fathers office that she did not find herself following him with her eyes if she was nearby.

Now, she found herself just glad to see him for the sake of seeing him, and she gave a glad cry as she wrapped her arms about him, kissing his cheek in greeting. It had been at least six years, since she had left flight school and challenged the airlines admittance policy, Matthew had been charged with getting her settled into London by her parents.

"Where are you going? Dad didn't say you were in London! We could have had dinner, is Chelsea with you? What about Mischa?" Jess was asking about a wife who had divorced him last year, and a daughter that was now in the care of his sister. Chelsea had not wanted the responsibility, and his job required too much traveling to care for a six year old girl. Matt avoided the question by asking her one.

"Where are you flying to? ..This is a coincidence as I am booked on a Brit Airways, and here you are! Are you by chance taking off for ..." she interrupted him, as she could see from the flight postings he had to be going to..

"Tokyo, oh my God! This is wonderful! I have two days there for layover, then Singapore, then Sydney, back here, then I have a week off here, and then I will be taking the London Mythic jet to pick up the family for Mom and Dads 25th wedding anniversary!" filling him in had left her breathless, and he enjoyed the sight. Her face was glowing with her excitement, but he did not realize a lot of it had to do with seeing him.

It took her only a minute to give him the name of her hotel, and they made arrangements to meet for dinner once the jet lag had passed over them. He had several meetings to attend on behalf of her father, but once those were over, he would be sure to give her a ring. Her father would expect nothing less of him, he would want him to look after Jessica! As he watched her trim figure click clack away in her navy pumps and the tailored uniform of a flight officer, he wondered just when she had grown up into such a beautiful woman. Then he shook his head to clear his mind of a thought like that.

Jessica spoke the code to dial Grants phone, but his line diverted to voice mail. Instead of talking, she decided to text him, "Hey sweetie, it's Jess..we really need to stop meeting like this..I mean here I am on my way to Tokyo, and once again you are out in San Francisco! Are you trying to avoid me? So..I left my schedule on the table, when you get in, you can figure out how to call me ok? Kisses!"

Grant read it, and snapped it shut before Kacie had a chance to see it. They both knew this was so wrong, but it still felt so right. The week after they had first been together, they had tried, but finally Grant could not stand it anymore, and Kacie found the following message on her phone when she got in from work.

"Kace, it's me, I am at the Fairmont, I have not been able to stop thinking about you, please, Kacie, listen to me, come into town, have dinner with me, I have to talk with you..we have to talk..this is important..you know it is! "

"Grant, my God, she is getting ready to announce your engagement at Mom and Dads anniversary party..what are we going to do?" the question was being asked, while he was slowly unbuttoning her blouse, kissing the skin he was baring, and drugging her with the warmth only he cold her feel.

"Kacie, God brought us together for a reason, I would never want to hurt Jess, and neither would you, but I love you, I think I loved you the first time I ever saw you, but Jess and I had gotten into such a pattern..but you, I love everything about you..and I cant give you up, and I won't give you up..I don't care what we have to do..do you understand that?"

All she could do was nod yes, as her hands undid his clothing. Her need to be as close to him as she could was again overcoming the sense of wrong she was doing. As in the book her mother had always claimed was a favorite, she vowed she would not think about this today,, she would think about it tomorrow!

**Chapter XIV**

Phaedra was working at the machine grinder, her goggles on, and using every safety precaution her father had made her memorize, repeat and use around all the tools and equipment she had grown up with. She never made mistakes like the one she had just done. For some reason, she had not concentrated like she should have, and now the blood was spurting from her hand like a geyser!

"Jesus! What happened?" Justin was coming in to check on whether the engine was ready for trial, and saw Phaedra trying to stem the blood flow with a towel. He could see at once the wound would require medical attention, and before she could say anything, he just picked her up and headed to his car.

"What in the hell are you doing, I can walk!" Her protest was followed by some kicking and squirming for him to put her down, but he was having none of it.

"You don't need to be doing anything that increases the blood flow, now shut up, and quit wiggling!"

It was twelve stitches in her hand and some pretty nice painkillers that quieted her down. The doctor said it would be fine in a week or so, but not to work, drive, or use the hand until he removed the stitches. Justin called Lou, telling him to go ahead and have one of the crew try the engine, he had to make sure that Phaedra got home safely.

"Sure, boss, she pretty well had it done anyway, I hope we can manage to keep her around, besides being fun to look at, she knows her stuff!" Lou had not imagined it now he knew, the boss had another interest in the little gal that went beyond professional. That explained how much time he was spending in the garage just "checking" how things were going. It seemed that Justin spent a bit too much time trying to get a rise out of her, and he had managed to push her button that morning enough that she had finally lashed out!

"Have you checked out those tolerances again, seemed a bit loose when I listened yesterday?'

"They are perfect, maybe your ears need a tune up?" Phaedra was just putting on her coverall on over the pair of beige shorts she was wearing. It did not escape her notice that he kept his eyes on her legs as he asked the question. Most times when that happened in a garage from the guys, she had just ignored it. It was part of the job to accept the razzing and not get bothered. When she had gone to move some parts on a pallet with the forklift, one of the guys had nicknamed her "scissor lift Barbie"and she had laughed along with them. So why was her employer's frank assessment of her legs and the rest of her body making her flush hotly? Another question to herself..why was she taking her damn time putting the coverall on? The answer made her angry with herself, she had never, and would never turn into a track groupie! That would be professional suicide and her job was her life! This man had seen her half naked, breasts exposed, and wearing nothing but a pair of boy briefs, and his eyes were telling her he remembered.

She looked at the bandaged hand, then at him as he drove them through the streets of Buenos Aires to her room.

"I know I pay you enough you could afford to live in a better part of town, why are you up here?" Justin did not sound condescending for once, actually concerned.

"A lot of the money I earn is being saved for when I do what I have been dreaming about..I want my own custom shop, and I want to design that engine your Dad almost got into production! He does not have the patent anymore, and I do! He gave it to my Dad, but Dad was not well, so he gave it to me..now you know my deepest dark secret..I should not have taken that pain med..must be like a truth serum or something!" Her head was leaning back against the seat cushion, but in seconds she was sound asleep. It seemed to be that this was just not to be her day either, as they pulled into the lot where she lived, the fire trucks were just putting out the blaze. These old buildings were known for the bad wiring, and the even worse fire protection services.

"Oh God! Everything I own was in there!" her plaintive wail was from her heart.

"I'm sorry Phaedra. Only, you didn't own too much at least, not from what I could tell!"

"My fathers picture..it was in there, I don't have a copy..I always meant to make one, and now..."

Justin remembered the picture, feeling bad for his insensitivity, he opened the door and went to the fire chief in charge to ask if anything was salvageable. Her apartment area was burned on the kitchen and bath area, but there might be some items not destroyed with the smoke and heat, so he was allowed to enter. The smell inside was horrible, but over on the little side table he could make out the frame, and he put a cloth over it to pick it up.

"Hey now, it is not so bad, I know a great photography restoration place in town, I bet he can fix it for you." Justin had brought it out to her, and though it was very scorched about the edges, and the frame blackened from it's original silver finish, the image of the father and daughter still lived within it.

Her tears surprised him, this tough little cookie had a very soft center it seemed. Before he could say anything more, she had thrown her arms about him to give him a hug of gratitude. Except when she pulled away, it was not gratitude he saw in her eyes. The depth of their darkness softened, her lashes dropped a moment before she looked at him again. He bent to her then, but before he could test her response to his kiss, she had broken away, and once again retreated to her side of the car. Both of them felt their breath come heavily, and both wondered if the other could see or hear the heart of the other beating rapidly. Justin spoke first, his words coming before he could think or plan, it was just what he knew had to happen.

"Well then, I think now what we need to do is get you into a nice bed for some rest.:

"There is a hotel down the street, I think it is pretty reasonable." She was again sounding sleepy from the drugs effects.

"I have something else in mind, you probably should not be alone while those drugs are in your system..you will be staying with me!"

"I think you better re think that, I cannot do that!"

"My brother is there, I have three house helpers..we are not alone, and no one at the track has to know..so shut up, and just let me handle this." He was not going to listen to her anyway, that was plain, and admitting to herself a truth that she hoped was not obvious, she wanted to spend more time with him. This at least offered an excuse.

**Chapter XV**

Her hair was piled up on her head, and she clipped it with a pretty little jeweled barrette, then picked out a pair of earrings that would dangle down her neck. To check the effect, Jessica shook her head to see how well they moved, and satisfied, she closed her little case of jewels. Matthew was waiting for her down in the lobby, and she gave herself one more once over to see that the dress she had on would be suitable. It was a pale blue sheath, with spaghetti straps, and when she looked at it again she wondered if maybe it was a bit too low. "Oh well, he will just have to live with it, I mean I am a grown up now!" The shoes were a matching color, sandal type heel with a diamond jeweled strap that wrapped around the slender ankle to make into a T arrangement on her foot. She turned her foot prettily, admiring how well they looked against her red polished toe nails. Grabbing her purse and fringed white shawl she headed down to meet him.

Her smile at him was so wide, because she could see how stunned he was at how nice she looked, and she was enjoying this immensely!

Then she took stock of him, once again looking at how he kept his light brown hair so closely cropped, but still managed to look so attractive. He still had the dark grey eyes that used to crinkle in amusement at her as a child. That look had always made her stop and just stare at him when she had been a child, and it was the same now. He was wearing a dark blue suit, with a lavender colored shirt, and a paisley swirled tie that used both colors for a well pulled together look. To her though, he would have looked just as good in a T shirt and jeans, which was often what he had worn as he had been briefed at her house by her father and Harris.

"Well, I thought you looked marvelous in your uniform, but this is..well ..spectacular! Thank you for dressing so special for dinner with me, that makes me happy!" as soon as he said the words, he felt a bit awkward, after all, this was his boss'es daughter, not a date!

She took the compliment and returned it, but her words also made him wonder if she had a different meaning. " You look as handsome as I remember, in fact, more handsome than I remember..gosh..I just realized I have not eaten anything since last night, do you think we can get going to dinner? I would hate to pass out in your arms!"

Matthew gave her his arm, but her words about passing out in his arms suddenly gave him a vision that was both entrancing, and frightening!

The restaurant was traditional Japanese, and they were seated on the floor within a private cubicle. She was curled upon the pillow, with her legs tucked up underneath her knees. He had a bit more difficulty with the length of his legs, but once he had stretched a bit, he found a way to sit that was tolerable. It meant his legs had to be touching the length of her thigh, and with the thin material of the dress, he found himself to be very conscious of the warmth of her leg. It was suddenly too warm, and he removed his jacket. The waitress in the traditional serving uniform was quiet as she took it to hang on the stand. Matthew needed the tension reliever of a thimble of the sake, so he poured on for himself, then offered one to Jess.

"I almost feel guilty offering you alcohol..you were just a child when..when Chelsea and I married.."

Laughing, Jess took the drink and instead of a dainty sip, she gulped it, then held out her tiny cup for another hit. "Yes, I was a child, but do you know what I really wanted that day? I wanted you to tell Chelsea..hell no! Then I wanted you to grab my hand and run out the door with me! "her face lit up with laughter at the memory.

"Well, as things turned out, I should have at least ran out the door! But we do have a beautiful little girl, that I would not change, but we are not really giving her much of a life. Chelsea is with Theo Carver and lives in Hong Kong, she does not see much of Mischa at all..neither do I, come to think of it, so my sister has her in Detroit much of the time."

"That must be so hard, I don't think I could bear being apart from a child if I had one of my own!" she did not want to make him feel any worse, that was the tender side of Jess that Matthew had always seen, from the time he had first met her, and from all he had seen when she had been the one to look after her little brother. Ace had been a handful, but Jess had always known how to handle him.

The dinner conversation never once lagged. If fact, it went on so long, that the waitress was giving them plaintive looks concealed in her practiced smiles. They had finally looked up to see the whole restaurant was empty, they had each consumed eight thimbles of the sake, and they really needed to be going! Standing up was not an easy accomplishment. He tried it first, and found himself straddled over her, looking down into her surprised face.

"Oh man, I think I overdid the sake..ok..let me steady myself, up..up..up"..his arms were either side of her as she was now flat on her back, giggling at his efforts. Once again his arms failed him, and this time he fell onto her, his face against hers, and his chest pressed into her. If he had been capable of not noticing he would have done better, but when he felt the hard points of her nipples press into his shirt, he could not suppress the groan, and it was a groan of sexual excitement. That was the impetus to get him off of her. He found the strength in his arms to practically leap up!

She also had known what had effected him, it was against her leg that she felt what he could not stop from happening, but when he jumped from her, all she felt was a sharp disappointment that he had moved away so quickly. At that moment Grant was not on her mind either. It took a minute for the head rush to calm down though, and she decided it was best to just forget it.

They headed to her hotel, and the evening would have ended with that last bit of embarrassment between them, if that wonderful Japanese tradition had not been going full blast in the lounge area. "Karoke!" both of them looked at each other with glee..and soon they were both up on stage together belting out to an appreciative Japanese audience, all the songs they could find that were anything related to "Grease"! When the sun came up the next morning, they were still seated watching others perform, and awaiting a dreadful hangover to come!

**Chapter XVI  
**

Sitting out on the deck of the boat in the morning watching his wife dry her hair as he sipped his tea and read the paper was the epitome of contentment to EJ, so when the phone interrupted his reverie his scowl was evident on his face.

"Hey kitten, what are you doing? You sound stressed..you want to speak with your Mom?"EJ put his hand over the receiver to let Samantha know, "It's Kacie, she sounds very upset!"

Kacie did want to speak with her mom, and it had to be now. The dream she had just woken up from was so real, and it was going to turn out to be true if her mother would not stop what she was about to do!

"What is it baby? Talk to me!"

"Mom, is Alex going to sleep with Jenna?" the very thought of that was panicking her, and her palms were going sweaty as she clenched an unclenched them.

"Well that is kind of a crass term, but yes, I am going to have something like that occur, you know, sort of an attraction they both know is forbidden, but they cannot help themselves. This Justine and Alex thing is so old and stale, she needs a new love and so does he! They have just grown into a couple that needs to leave the teen angst behind, and with each other it just won't work. Why is this any concern of yours? Don't tell me you are confusing real life with a soap? Honey, that is just not like you!"Sami was grinning as she took a sip of the tea and gave a reassuring pat on EJ's leg. He was looking so worried!

Kacie closed her eyes in utter despair, knowing in the show she had always been cast as the little sister who was in awe of her older sister, but who in the show also harbored a bit of jealousy. Kacie also knew if she were honest, she had found it hard to have to be in the shadow of the beautiful and blonde Jessica most of her lifeand even though she was not plain, she just did not shine in the crowd like Jess did. In high school she had always been the studious one, but also the tom boy while Jess had been the cheerleading ideal. Her mother had seen it though, and enhanced it a few degrees when developing the character of Jenna for the show. Jessica was the golden child, to whom everything was given and all bowed down to, while Jenna was the darker side, given to grasping for what she wanted without thought of what the consequences would be. For the few times she gave time to watch the show, it had always amused her to be thought of as the "dark side"!

She knew she could not dissuade her mother from the story, and she knew in truth it would make the show better, only how would she be able to face her sister knowing that she had done in real life what was going to be filmed on a soap for all to see. The other part killing her was knowing that Grant planned on telling Jess the day before the party. It seemed from their schedule conflicts that was going to be the first day they would be in the same city together. Since she would be flying all of them around the country, he had decided it would not be a good time to tell her while the plane was enroute.

After talking a bit more with her mother, she asked to speak with her dad, but only to say how much she loved him, and would he make sure to check in on Jess..all Kacie would say was, " I just have a feeling she needs to talk to you dad, nothing specific, just a feeling."

As long as the kids seemed to be in a talking mood, Sami dialed Justin up, but when Ace answered she was amazed and relieved!

"You have owed me a call for ages..so pay up!" Asking Ace what was going on in his life was a treat always, so she hit the button for speaker phone, "Your Dad and I are right here..so tell us what you have been up to!"

Forty five minutes later they knew that Ace was finally in the mood to set a plan for his life.

"That is wonderful news, and of course Mythic would like to invest in it, if you will have it! The tropical rain forest down there is so important, and if we could only get as clever as Bolivia with the switch blade grass.."EJ began to ramble, and Sami now waited to get a word in edgewise..

"Ace, I spoke to Justin last week, he said you have been seeing a young lady..I think he said her name is Eva..is this anything you want to tell me about?"

"Well, Mom, I think we are going to just let you meet her at the party, the family she works for will be gone, and she is not needed. I have asked her to come along and meet up with the whole Wells brood..I think you will like her, she is sorta quiet, but since I make up for that, it is a good match."if they could have seen him, the fact that he could actually blush would have given them a giggle.

"Yes Ace, quiet is a good match for you!" his mother remembered the exuberant son who was never at a loss for words, inconvenient and embarrassing as they could be at times!

" I am sort of frightened by this, but I will let you in on it..I really like her, and I am hoping it all works out for the two of us. She is a little scared as well. When you meet her, I am hoping that all of us can calm her down so that she can really concentrate on what I want to have with her! She is so smart, she speaks several languages, she knows the problems in this continent! Mom! She is not just a pretty face, though she is beautiful..she is pretty down deep..you should see her with children, it is amazing...: his praise for Eva grew more and more effusive, until finally his father had to stop him..

"Well Ace, I am afraid I now cannot wait to meet this paragon of virtue..I only hope she doesn't make your mother and I feel too inferior!..now would it be possible to speak with Justin?" EJ was looking at the racing schedules to see if Justin would be going on to the September Gran Prix of Japan. He had Matthew there now going through some preliminary set ups.

"Dad, you could reach him on his own phone about now, he had to take Phaedra to the doctor to get her stitches out.."

"Wait, Ace, who is that, Phaedra I mean?"All Ace could think to himself now was 'me and my big mouth' as his mother began to pump him for information.

"Oh, her hand, how awful..and you say Justin has a female mechanic?"

When EJ heard the girls last name, he remembered her father, and as a small child who often accompanied her dad to the garage in England. EJ had given up racing but not his interest in the development of engines since he had arrived in Salem. He had given Stan Schoefield the blueprint of the engine that he had finally acquired the rights to from Shawn Brady. This Brady was just not mature enough to take the time needed to iron out the kinks, and Stan had passed on before he could really study it. EJ had more or less forgotten about it, but now he figured he would ask Phaedra Schoefield just what had happened to it. EJ still owned the legal patent on it, but maybe Stan had found out what the problems were.

When that call had ended, Sami and EJ both felt as though they were mostly caught up in what was going on in all their childrens lives. After a nice walk on the beach, and lunch, they both decided it would be a good time to call Jessica as well!

**Chapter XVII**

Tokyo time was now eight in the morning so EJ figured it would be no problem to give Matthew a call, and it should not have been, except that once they had come in from the late night, early morning all nighter, they both had made it no further than each double bed in the room. Matthew had been asleep exactly one hour when the incessant ringer on his cell began to chime, and he took a moment to come to full lucidity. Jessica, though, being more used to being awakened due to last minute schedule changes was searching instinctively for the phone to answer what she felt was the call of duty.

Her hand bumped against that of Matthew lying on the other bed, and in the worst possible luck, she won the battle for control of the phone, flipping it open and saying "Jess Wells here, yes I am available..."as soon as she said it, she realized there was no way she could fly with the amount of alcohol she had consumed last night, nor was she prepared for the absolute fury in the voice of her father as he gave her this order.

"Put this damn phone in Matt's hands right now, I think both of you owe your mother and I an explanation of some sort!" If only Matt had not groaned with the agony of his hangover, she might have been able to offer some sort of plausible excuse..such as..'oh I picked up his cell by mistake.." all of what she could have and should have said flooded her mind, but it was too late, and Matt was sitting up, to take hold of the phone like a man.

"You think taking my daughter to your bed is a way to move up in my organization Matt..I thought better of you than this! You are old enough to be her father! What in the hell were you thinking!"

"Daddy! We did no such thing! I mean he slept on the other bed ! We kind of passed out from too much sake!"

"You got her drunk Matt? So drunk she passed out?" Matt had still not said a word, he was drinking water as fast as he could to try and clear a bit of the haze from a brain that was also trying to remember exactly what had happened and why.

"EJ..I did not get her drunk, I mean we just met for dinner..then we wanted to karoke..I admit we both drank too much..I walked her up to the room..and from there I swear, I just don't remember much..except I swear to you, I am still wearing my suit, and she is..still in the blue dress..." at this point Matt was looking at her, not seeing her red rimmed eyes, or the bed head, or the wrinkles in the dress. She still looked so beautiful to him.

"And EJ, I am not old enough to be her father, I could be a older brother maybe, but not her father.."as he was talking, his eyes were not leaving her face, and she kept looking at him as well. Damnit! If she would not look away, who knew what was going to happen here in this room once he got her father calmed down a bit.

"Matthew, this is Sami..hi there..I apologize for EJ, and I know you would always take care of Jess, you always did..so uhh would it be possible for me to talk with her a moment? Privately?"

"Mom..you have to make Dad stop this! I swear, Matthew was a gentleman, we just had so much fun last night..I mean, yeah we drank too much, but I have not had such a great time in ages..and he needed a friend too..you don't know how lonely he has been..Chelsea left him, he can't take care of his daughter..It was so sad mom, and we just had so much to talk about and catch up on..." Jessica was talking to a mother who seemed to smile as she said over the phone.

"I will talk to EJ. Meanwhile, why don't you get some sleep, and encourage Matthew to do the same, but in his own room alright? Don't worry baby, it will be ok, I promise!" Sami was looking at EJ in a calculating way as she closed the phone and used the sway of her hips to focus him in on another target.

"Now I think I have found what I am going to do with Justine!"

**Chapter XVIII**

Her hand was healing pretty well, but when the doctore gave her the news that she would need to keep the hand out of the oil and dirt of an engine for another week Phaedrea wailed in protest.

"No! Justin, tell him, I have to be there when we run it full out! It is too important to me to let anyone else do it..I will keep the hand covered doctor, I swear!"

The doctor looked to Justin to make the signorina listen to sense. "Look, Phaedra, if your hand should get infected it could be serious! That was a bad wound, deep down to the bone! Lou is gonna be right there, and you can be as well..just not with your hands in the mucky stuff!" He saw her face, and his tough cookie seemed as close to losing a real tear down her face as he could imagine.

"I wanted to put it in for you..I wanted to feel how it felt as it was tightened down, you just wouldn't understand." Before he could witness her weakness, she had stiffened her spine, stifled the sniffle, and jumped down from the examining table. "Can we go now, I at least want to be there when Lou finishes up. He may have questions about something." At that moment Justin felt the stirrings of something he had never felt about a woman. His attitude towards most women had been indulgent, he enjoyed their company, but other than his mother and his sisters to some extent, had he ever felt admiration for one.

He knew he had insisted on her moving into his house for more than just her chance to recuperate, and he also knew if the other crew members got wind of it she would suffer. Now he knew he must protect her from that and there was only one way to insure it.

"I am getting you a room at the Sofitel, we will stop by the house and get your things..I will see that you have a private duty nurse available.."he was on the phone making the arrangements, not looking at her as he spoke.

She read his mind, and knew he was doing it in her best interests as well. She had been around the tracks long enough to know what would happen to her reputation if she was thought to be snogging with the boss. Except the extravagance of the Sofitel, one of the five star luxury hotels was not something she could afford on her own, or take from him without paying for it. She reached down to pull out her checkbook.

"Don't think of it, the racing account will pay for the nurse as a matter of the health policy..and the room, well lets just say the hotel owes me big time, so this is not costing me anything..put your money away, it is taken care of."he had pulled up into the valet parking area, getting out as he handed the keys to the attendant, then opening her door.

"Thank you.." she still was uncomfortable calling him anything other than "Boss"

"My name is Justin, you can say it can't you? I would like to hear you say my name..Phaedra..and I would like you to know how much I like saying your name..it is so beautiful..your mother must have loved you so much to give you a name like that. It just comes off the tongue so softly."Justin was speaking in such a low hushed tone, she found herself leaning in to him to make sure she was hearing correctly.

"Yes, I can say Justin, but I never heard you ask me to..I just want you to know in the pit though, you are still "Boss" ok..Justin?" her dark eyes rested on his face, then had to look away. What she was feeling inside was too hard to resist, but she knew she must.

"If I asked you something, would you think about it for me?"

"What", her apprehension was coming across in her voice, but she let him continue.

"Well, I have to go back home next week for my parents anniversary..they will have been married twenty five years. Umm.. well I don't really have a date, and I would love for you to come with me..My sister is a pilot and she is picking my brother and I up here. Even Eva is coming..Do you think you could think about coming with me..my Dad would love to meet you I bet, I told him about you having the engine plans!" before he could go further, her grin had spread from ear to ear.

"I would meet the famous EJ Wells, in the flesh?"

"Yes, he will be one of the guests.." he laughed at her star struck look.."Um..don't know if you have noticed, but I have won more races than he did by the time he was my age..do you want my autograph?"

"I would love to go! Thank you!" she had forgotten her self imposed rule about keeping professional distance, and flung her arms about his neck, going for a kiss on his cheek, which he deflected by turning his face just enough to make sure he made contact with the soft lips that pouted on her face. She tried to break away, but he slipped his arms around her waist, and pressed until he felt her brief surrender, and the returning kiss she gave him. When she broke away, she touched her lips as if they had been scorched, while he smiled down at her, feeling the same.

Authors notes:

Quiz:

1. Name the dr. who did the egg harvest on Sami a. dr. Feglund b. dr. rolf c. dr. bader

2. how did tony (andre whoever) kill this dr. A. poison B. dropped him out of a helicopter over the ocean C. shot him

**Chapter IXX**

Samantha Wells arrived at the studio, driving herself. EJ had wanted her to go in a security limo, but she was tired of all the trappings, and it slowed things us so much. It was quicker to just drive in and pull into her designated parking spot without having to be ferried around in that huge gas guzzling beast. Her virtuous little Prius mad her feel like she was saving the world. The story line she was developing would also have a green theme. With Ace starting up his new venture, she wanted to help make others aware of how important all of these issues were. However, she was not going to do it cheesily! It would be done with serious intent, and no selling of the idea to sponsors! When one of the lower exec producers had approached her with the idea of a Green Wedding, she had damn near laughed him out of her office! Her son Ace had given her a lot of ideas and background material, this story was going to be a way to both educate the public, but do a great deal of good in the world as well.

"Listen..this is not a publicity stunt to try and take advantage of what is going on in the world, this will be an ongoing story, it will feature areas of the world that are losing productive and protective rain forest by the thousands of acres daily! So go back, do some damn research! We are going to make Sabrina and Crawford the center of this story..the idea will be they are helping their son with his venture, but at the same time they connect with the people of the area! I will not tolerate another scene of them engaging in face sucking make out scenes! If I have to put up a film of my husband and I kissing each other, I swear I will do it in order for these directors to learn how to block a scene of romance!" She had started a lot of changes, some the crew welcomed, some they did not, but within a couple of weeks of the new shooting, everyone had a much more positive feeling they would be employed for some time to come.

When Joel Jacobson asked to meet with her, he did not have to wait long. He was one of the vets on the show the attorney known as Darrin Colesby, and he had been sidelined for awhile, but she had big plans for him and wanted to let him in on it.

"You are going to be Justine's new love interest!" she tossed him his scripts, then waited as he looked at her as if she had gone out of her mind.

"But I am her fathers's..." he was interrupted by her finishing up his sentence.

"Business partner, yes I know..and it will become apparent she has had a crush on you since she was a teenager..maybe even longer..I will have to look back through some of the old clips..". leaning back in her chair, she crossed her arms over her chest, thinking of all the delightful stories this would make bubble to the surface.

"Crawford would hate me! He would never allow this..it would be a betrayal of him..I mean.." he looked deep in thought for a moment, then his eyes crinkled as he also got into the story line potential. How long would he be sneaking around with Justine before Crawford would find out? What if he got Justine pregnant? Crawford would be faced with the fact that his Grandchild was conceived by a man that he would think took his daughters innocence!

"Brilliant, Sami, I think it will be brilliant!" The English accent and phrasing of Joel was another reason Sami was so happy with this line of drama. Joel was a handsome man, sort of Brad Pitt looking, and with his blonde good looks paired with the darker coloring of Justine, they were going to look so great on camera together. Jexes? Who gave a damn! For too long they had held too much control with her prior Executive producer, if not for him, Justine and Alex would both have moved onto more exciting stories, and the show would have been the better for it! She was furious with herself for not keeping a better finger on the pulse of the show for the past few years.

The pacing of the show stepped up, the quality of writing stepped up, and even Justine once she got into the new role that was being set up for her got over her fear of leaving her comfort zone. As for Estelle, playing the cheater, Jenna, was liberating! The idea of stealing her sisters boyfriend who she had secret feelings for since first meeting him..well this was like a dream come true role to play!

Sami stood up to excuse Joel from her office and wish him well, "Well, I seem to have solved the problem of both my girls, and my one son on the show, but what ever shall I do about Troy? It just seems every love interest we have paired him with just does not measure up in the right way..too soft, too hard..I just cannot seem to figure out what type girl would be best for Justin..that is Troy!"

It was at that moment that Justin had just broken apart from Phaedra, and the kiss that was being captured by a three paparazzi who had jumped out from behind cars and bushes at the Sofitel. Justin and his vowing to keep his crew from knowing that he had a romantic interest in one of his mechanics was now chasing the photographers offering money, threats and legal action trying to retrieve the pictures.

Nothing would work, a day later the picture and the headline, "Justin Wells Caught at Secret Tryst at Sofitel With his Paramour Mechanic Lady! Was this why he gave socialite Jillian Morse the boot from his home in Buenos Aires?

**Chapter XX**

Grant squared his tie off, then looked in the closet for his jacket. He had exactly an hour to make it to Heathrow, and in another twelve hours he would be with Kacie again, but it seemed an eternity. He should have heard from Jess by now, but with the difference in their hours while she was on one side of the world while he found himself on the other, it was understandable. Except she always left him text messages. Why was she not doing that now? Rather than dwell on that, he let his mind wander to what he and Kacie would be doing later on ..and he could not help but smile as he replayed in his mind how they would make love with each other when at last he would meet her at his hotel room. He knew the time was coming when he would have to face up to Jess, but for now all he wanted to think about was Kacie, and how wonderful it would be to be with her again. To be in love was such a high, and he never wanted to come down or think of consequences. Buttoning up his jacket, and grabbing his bag he left for his upcoming rendevous.

Her desk was cluttered with several projects in various stages, and the normally focused Kacie was staring into space. Looking at her watch, she knew that he was close to landing in San Francisco International, and she would soon be leaving to meet him at the Fairmont. Once again, she would forget all but being in his arms, but once it was over, the thoughts of her sister would come crashing in on her, leaving her face tearstained as she would agonize over what was soon to come. The anniversary party was scheduled for next week. All of them would be flying into Salem on the same plane, and this would be the first time she would have to endure seeing Jess and Grant together. They had agreed to wait for his telling her until after the party. He was going to find a reason to stall Jess making the engagement announcement..the ring was not ready..he wanted privacy to tell her..anything to just stall that awful moment of truth.

Jessica Wells was at that moment checking into her last leg of her two week away from home flight schedule. Most times she loved Sydney, but between the exhaustion of her work, and her inner conflict now, all she wanted to do was take a shower and climb into bed. She had refused the invitation of the rest of the crew for dinner out, and gone straight to her room. The room service menu seemed unappetizing, so she took the easy way out and had them send up her favorite comfort food, tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

It had only been one kiss, why did she feel so guilty? The reason was one kiss had made her jump from the electric charge of it, and Matthew had felt it as well. She had only meant to give him a peck of goodbye, except when her lips made contact against his cheek, she moved them to his lips, and he had taken hold of her and did not let go. As if they had a will of their own, her arms had stolen around his neck to pull him closer, until sanity reared it's head and both had pulled away in a breathless rush.

"Jess, I am sorry, I have no idea what made me do that?" Matthew was blushing in his confusion and that caused her to giggle.

"You don't? I would have thought they taught you better in biology class!" then she had told him not to worry, it was just one of those things and hurried him out the door. Then when he had left, she relived the kiss in its entirety, leaning back against her closed door, then sighing aloud before going back to bed and once again forgetting to text a message to Grant. The only thing now worrying her was how she was going to find a way to make her father let up on Matthew..oh well, that was a problem for another day.

For Ace, this was going to be the start of an absolutely perfect day. Eva had half a day off, and was going to meet him at the coffee shop up the street from her families house. He had brought along the portfolio which was going to be his lifes work, wanting to share it with her as they read the newspaper and had a couple of cups of the strong coffee served there. After that, a walk in the park, along the lake maybe feeding the ducks some of the day old bread from the bakery. By the time it was near dark, and she would be due back to put the kids in a bath, and read them a story, Ace figured he would have given her at least five or six kisses..each one sweeter than the last. For him, she had taken to wearing her hair down, out of the constriction of the braids, to run his fingers through it, seeing the contrast of the bright auburn tones against his tanned skin was a sensual delight to his eyes, and the smell of her just shampooed hair was better than the finest French perfumes on his mother or sisters dressing table.

By the side of the lake, they sat down, and Eva had pulled small yellow dandelions from the grass, weaving them into wreaths that she playfully put around their heads. When she set his upon his head, he had taken her face in his hands and given her a kiss of sweet promise. As she opened her eyes, a look of fearful surprise made her eyes widen, and change color as her pupils dilated.

"What's the matter Eva?,"Ace turned to look in the direction her eyes pointed in.

"Nothing, it was just I thought I saw someone over there..but it must have been just a shadow.." she quieted and then lay her head down in his lap, looking up and clearing her mind of all save Ace, and the future he had planned out for them saving the rain forest of South America!

"Hell! How come I did not see that creep? I usually see paparazzi a mile away! What was I thinking?" Justin was reading the rag with the headline, in which the reporter had done a great deal of digging around on both Phaedra and Justin. Justin was portrayed as the typical play boy racer, but on her they had done a serious hatchet job. Her first boyfriend had alluded to taking her in the backseat of a race car at the garage, and for a small sum he gave up the names of at least ten others he said had also enjoyed her favors.

"That Phaedra..what does the song say..oh yeah, knocked me on my knees, Phaedra..yeah she was fine!" the young fool staring back at Justin looked to be like one of the loser track mechanics who hung around the races, but never found the brains or the disclipine to make it into the circles that Phaedra had. Justin would have hated the man just on general principles, but when he saw Phaedra come into the garage, ignoring the stares of the other crew members as well as their attempts at hiding the snickers they shared with each other from the boss, but not from her, he swore under his breath.

"Lou, you take care of that if you want to keep working for me!"

"Be my pleasure boss"! 

Authors note: I am trying to get a few updates in..I am going into hospital on Monday..my doctor got a cancellation from surgery scheduled on the 21st (hope some poor sucker did not die and I got his spot...) fyi for those interested on what pieces parts will be exchanged or done away with, I am a diabetic patient whose kidneys decided after the last bout of infection they just did not care to put up with me anymore..I will be going on what is called peritoneal dialysis, hence the surgery to put the tubing needed in place but apparently what I thought was a simple thing is more complex..and while after a bit I will be able to travel..for several weeks I have to learn to "balance the exchange" which is said to be not altogether pleasant. So while I had hoped to finish off this series before we actually got EJami, it may not be possible..enjoy this one and maybe one or two more chapters..but hey..I am not torturing you all with those dang questions now.

**Chapter XXI**

EJ pulled Samantha against him to spoon to her warmth, at the same time flicking the remote on the t.v. until she asked him in total exasperation.."What is it with you men, you are never satisfied with what is on television, all you care about is what else is on television! Give me that now! I want to see todays show."

"Women and remotes are not compatible, it is in the rules. Hang on, let me check the golf scores then you can have it."

EJ briefly put on the sports channel, then set it for the peacock so she could see her handiwork coming to life. Then he saw her surprise scene! "Damnit, Samantha, are you planning a sexual act with Matthew and..I mean Darrin and Justine? What in Gods name are you thinking..he is old enough to be Jessicas father!"

"What has Jess to do with this story? Besides, he is not nearly old enough to be her father, and way too good looking to waste as fodder for Catherine or Willa..he needs a love interest, Justine is now being cheated on by her fiancé and her sister, why not spice up this show with a little bit of forbidden love? The show has been stale..but you know what? I love your reaction, it is just like I think Crawford will react as well! God this is going to be good!"

"Samantha, in light of what we heard from Jessica's hotel room in Tokyo, don't you think this is hitting a bit close to the bone? And how do you think Kacie is going to like being pigeon holed as the sister who snuck behind her sisters back to steal her fiancé? For that matter, how do you think it will make people react to her? You know how these soap opera fans can be so fanatic! What do you think Jess is going to say about that storyline? You know how you and Carrie were portrayed in the day!"

"Oh, EJ, really, this is just a soap..I have no idea why people get so worked up over it! It is meant to entertain, not be a moral guide. Don't worry, Jess and Kacie will be fine, just fine!" Her arms stole around his neck to bring his lips against her neck, wanting to feel his breath on her in the familiar way that still made her toes curl with wanting him.

"Our twenty fifth wedding anniversary is next weekend..Jessica is so wrapped up in the details she probably isn't even watching the show with her schedule."

"And Kacie?" his questions kept coming with the neck kissing she was turning her head to accommodate, as his hand stole down the front of her dressing gown to undo the buttons and ties. He loved that she always made sure to have buttons and ties on her gowns.

"Mmm..Kacie is not watching the show. She told me today she has been to busy with work..but I am going to sit with both of them next week and show them all the highlights of the last two weeks! I can hardly wait to see what they think!" finally they stopped talking with words, and let their hands and lips do the communicating.

Upon the television screen, Darrin was picking Justine up and carrying her up a wide stair case as her arms held fast to his neck, and as that love scene played out, the split screen showed Jenna with Alex sharing a bubble bath together while sipping champagne then feeding each other ripe red strawberries. By the time the closing credits were rolling, Samantha and EJ lay spent in each others arms, peacefully sleeping in a satisfied bliss.

Sleeping alone in his bed, trying not to think, but having no success, Matthew finally gave up and decided to go downstairs for a drink to try to relax. Pictures of his daughter Mischa were scattered about the house and he decided it would be good to go get her from his sisters before the party next week. He missed her terribly, but all the traveling he did for EJ made it hard to give her any stability. God knows Chelsea had no interest in her daughter. It amazed him that he could have ever thought Chelsea was the kind of woman who wanted a family. She wanted the world, and to be the newswoman she had ended up being. Her dream had come true, but at the expense of sacrificing her child. Having Mischa around would probably deflect a bit of what he was sure would be EJ's ire for awhile, and make any temptation he might feel lingering if he should find himself alone with Jess for any reason. The very idea he had been thinking that brought him up short. The calendar showed he was approaching his forty fourth birthday, he was nineteen years older than Jess, not to mention that she was engaged. But she had kissed him, they had crossed a line that night, and God help him, he wanted to go further. He decided he would find out how Jess really felt about both him, and her fiancé. The hell with EJ!

**Chapter XXII**

He moved into the shadows of the hedge before she turned to move her two young charges across the street while walking them to their school. This would be the day, after she watched them move up the steps to the open school door, he would catch her as she walked back to the house. It would only take a minute, and he would pull her back into the bushes and use the knife. Then he would head back to his home, and find himself another wife, one who would not be a whore in search of any man who would look at her!

He recalled how terrified he had been to wake up to the blows raining down upon him, and how he could only see the horrible whiteness of the light! The next morning when he had come too he had stumbled out the door finding his way by touch to his brother's house next door, and having to wait as he was cut out of the sheeting while hearing the laughter of his brothers wife and children.

"Why you let her get away with dis? You see the passport receipt? How you let her get passport and you no know about it? Carlos! You are some kind of idiot, that is sure for sure!" and then and there he had gone back into his house to search for a clue as to where she had gone. He found his truck abandoned close to the bus station, and from the schedule there he saw the only bus that had left that day was destined for Buenos Aires. It took a lot of digging, then he had found it! Bitch was not as careful or smart as she figured she was, and the yellowed paper with the employment ad for a nanny was circled and an address and phone written down. All he did then was have his sister in law call the number to find out the position was filled, and yes, the person did speak the required languages. There was no doubt in his mind that this person was Eva. She was always wasting her time and his money reading books and learning new tongues.

Well now, it was all over. He crouched down, counting the seconds until she would be within reach. As she crossed the street, he saw her look up at the boulevard sign and smile! Then she waved her hand, and he stepped out a bit to see what was happening, when he saw him! The bastard she was sleeping with! She ran to the blonde man, and he picked her up and twirled her about, lifting her above his head as he did. He saw his plan evaporate with this bit of luck..good for her..bad for him! No matter, there would be another time! He had nothing but time now.

"Hey, are you packed and ready to leave tomorrow?" Ace had hold of her hand, pulling her down the street to the coffee shop. "My sister called last night and said the plane will be on the ground by nine, then we are off to San Francisco! It is a fantastic city, sort of like Buenos Aires, and she is so looking forward to meeting you! So are my parents, even Justin has been singing your praises!"

"Yes, I am! They will all be leaving this evening for the mountains, and the children are looking forward to seeing their grandparents so much."Eva sipped her coffee and let her hand be covered by his. It was always so wonderful to spend these moments with him, short though they were, but now she was to be allowed a whole week with him, and would be staying at his home in Salem. As they talked, neither of them noticed the sinister stares of the man who sat on the bench across the street with a paper in front of him. There would be no chance today, as the two betrayers were going to stay there until the school let out at mid day for the two children.

"Which one of you wants to have their final check cut today?" Lou had planted himself, legs wide apart, and his hands on his hips the day Justin had told him to 'handle it'. All the men had gotten the message, except the one who had just been rehired. Lorenzo had not liked the idea that this little woman not only had taken his place, but seemed to do a better job than he had, and had Lou's respect while he did not.

The light on in the garage showed that she was still in there, and when the other guys called him to go for drinks he had told them to go on, he would be there in a bit. It only took a few minutes for him to take up a spot behind a stack of boxes, and lay in wait. He saw her take off her coveralls, and gave a low whistle as he saw she was wearing a pair of tight shorts, and a brief t shirt under them. It was already common knowledge that she was pretty accomplished as a martial artist, only this time it would do her no good. As she walked by him, he brought the wrench down on her head, not hard enough to kill her, but it did knock her to her knees, and he was upon her, dragging her over to the office and the sofa that was where he planned to finish his mission. He put out the lights so if she did come around, she would be unable to identify him, and he began to rip off her t shirt, and to tug at the waist band of her shorts.

The pain of the blow was fogging her mind, but when she felt him pulling at her clothing she began to futilely fight against him. Her whimper became a low moan, then a weak cry for help. He pulled her hands away from the criss cross gesture she was using to cover up, and somewhere in her mind was the thought she should give up modesty for self protection, but she could not pull it all together!

"Shut up bitch, I read all about you, you gave it up for all those guys, now I want some!" his mistake was in saying anything, for in the darkness, even in her fear, she knew the voice.

"Lorenzo?" and then she found enough voice to scream.

Lorenzo had not the time to react, when the light in the office blazed on, and he felt himself flying across the room, with the feet, fists, and head of Justin coming after him without mercy or hesitation. By the time Justin reacted to the voice of Phaedra begging him to stop before he killed him, the man was a bloody pulp, his face barely recognizable.

Phaedra was hanging on his arm, trying to make him stop, when Justin turned his glazed stare onto her, seeing for the first time her nakedness. He took off his shirt and covered her up, then held her shivering form in his arms.

"This is my fault, my fault," he held her, listening to her cry out her fear until she had no more tears. While she cried, he dialed the poliza, and took her to sit down as he held her more.

**Chapter XXIII**

The steaming cup of tea was overly sweet to Phaedra, and she choked on the taste. "Drink it, the sugar will help with the shock, and level you out." Justin firmly pushed it back at her from where she had set it down on the side table. Justin had carried her to his room, past all the police who were told to come to his house to complete the investigation, past the flashing bulbs of the local news people as well as the handful of paparazzi who had been lucky enough to be squatting outside his house again waiting on any kind of story about the dashing race car driver favored in the upcoming Grand Prix of Argentina. His now very unhidden romance with one of his own mechanics was a story destined to bring in thousands of dollars for whoever got to the bottom of it first.

Justin had not seen the woman reporter and her camera assistant who had made it to the front of the crowd, but had he seen her, he would have recognized her as a once prominent citizen of Salem, Chelsea Brady! She had smiled broadly when Theo had been able to get his mic boom close enough to hear Justin murmur to the young lady, "Trust, me, I won't let anyone ever hurt you!" and that tape was going to be replayed around the world very soon, not to mention the u-tube hits it would soon be getting! This night had been one for the books as far as Chelsea was concerned!

"Justin, will they arrest you for beating Lorenzo that way?" Phaedra had finished the tea, and the concern in her voice for him after what she had just been through floored him.

Sitting next to her on the bed, he pulled her to him, looking down at how her small frame was dwarfed by the t-shirt of his he had given her to wear. It made her look like a little girl, and he felt parts of his heart melting away just to see her relaxing into his strength. He did not know how or when it had happened, but he was never going to be able to let her go again. Love was not something he was familiar with when it came to women. He just knew this was it, and it had to be given a voice.

"Would it scare you if I told you what I am feeling right now?" the words were whispered almost in a fearful tone.

"I don't know, what are you feeling?" her dark eyes searched his, wanting him to say what she also longed to hear, but was afraid to voice herself.

Both of them looked into the soul of the other at that moment, and both found the heart to say words that are the most liberating, but also the most imprisoning in the spoken language. "I love you.." both of them said it at the same time, each letting go of the fear of being hurt, or being rejected, or being accepted..for that can also be frightening! A smile of welcome was in her eyes, and a smile of relief was in his as they gave each other what they both sought.

Turning her face into his kiss, he drew her against him, wanting to feel her as close as possible, but then he remembered all she had been through that night and stopped. Her eyes were closed tightly, and he felt the blunder he had made weaken him, but she was not afraid at all it seemed. When he released her, her eyes opened and she reached for the collar of his shirt to make him seek her out again. This time when he kissed her, he did not stop there. In seconds they lay naked in each others arms, his lips tracing her neck and shoulder, finding all the hollows that needed his touch and his kiss.

She wondered briefly if she should let him know, but he was so gentle and everything he did felt so sweet, it did not seem the time. As for Justin, he was so intent on her and her pleasure, he did not notice her inexperienced attempts to arouse him, and he did not need them anyway. It was not until he had crossed the final barrier, and heard her sharp intake of breath with the momentary gasp of pain he knew the truth!

"Phaedra, my darling, I am sorry..I would never hurt you, never..never.." but it was not something he could take back or stop, the tide was pounding now, and he had to stay with it.

"I am alright, please, I want this..so much, so much," and her tide also was rushing to the shore, and she saw the final wave crash over her, drowning her in the sensation that made her body shudder with convulsion after convulsion until she lay spent and shaking in his arms. As he heard the even breathing beside him, he looked down at her sleeping face, and knew what had to happen now. He could never let her face the humiliation of the crew as his mistress, but not a one of them would dare insult his wife!

Picking up one of her hands he looked at her ring finger, gauging its size, and thinking to himself, "wow, she could really use a good manicure!" while at the same time placing the call and leaving a message Salem for the family jeweler there to meet him at his parents house the day after tomorrow, and to bring a case of the nicest engagement rings he had in house!

Jessica was walking crisply about that time to the jet way for the Mythic Company jet, all set to check out the pre flight, and set the course charts. She was inside, seated, and organizing things when her co pilot came in to join her. Her good morning was delivered with her head down, but when she looked up, her voice shook as she said, "Matthew! You are second man on this flight?" he could not stop his look of mirth as both her surprise, fluster, and what he could only think of as happiness shown in her eyes as she saw he was indeed going to be her co-pilot!

**Chapter XXIV**

"Welcome aboard, but how did you get this assignment? I would have thought you were above flying the bird as your main job now" Jessica was having a hard time containing her delight in the cockpit company she was going to have.

"The regular guy caught a bug, so I got called off my assignment early..but we do have one unscheduled change..we have to pick up my daughter in Detroit before we go onto Buenos Aires, she is going to be spending Easter week with me, I okayed this with EJ, and it really won't even be a big change as we would be refueling somewhere about there anyway if we make it straight to Bueno Aires. So..uh is this okay with you?" he winked at her, now in serious flirtation mode, and not bothering to hide it. "I just want to tell you, I have never had a captain look so well in a skirt before!"

He was not bothering to hide his appreciative stares at her legs, encased in the dress uniform of Mythic's attendants. EJ was rather conservative, and liked his cabin stewards and attendants in male and female dress. When her uniform had arrived by courier whoever had read the order just assumed by her name it was to be the uniform worn by females on the plane, not expecting the captain to be a woman.

"Well thank you, I think! I just want you to know that all sexual harassment is not reported, but it will definitely be graded!"

His guffaw at her tease was so charming, she stopped to once again look at this man she had fantasized about as a teenager. Then she remembered how he had kissed her, and could not stop herself from wondering what he would be like in bed. Somehow she knew it would be so different from how Grant made love to her. Grant was tender, but tender in a predictable way. What would it be like she wondered, to be totally swept away, in the most wrong and delicious way. She made herself turn her attention to her work now, trying to find a way to make herself stop the flush spreading on her face. Hoping she was not giving herself away, she peeked over at him, only to see him staring at her in a way that told her she had no secrets from him, and he was not going to allow her any escape from her wickedness!

"I do not know why you insist on throwing Jessica and Matthew together, it will be a long plane ride..Samantha, are you trying to destroy her relationship with Grant?" EJ had just found out that his wife had okayed the request for the regular London co pilot to be replaced with Matthew, and he was not happy about it!

"Hon, look, he was there, and he wants to bring Mischa home for Easter week, he is an excellent pilot..I mean you have used him to fly me all over the place..and no, I am not trying to destroy Grant and Jessica's relationship, if you can even call what they have a relationship. I have talked to her three times this week, and she has not even mentioned his name. What kind of love is that? Then I call Kacie, and all she can talk about is what fun it was to have dinner with us and Grant that time..I mean she has more to say about Grant than Jessica!" Samantha was looking into her dressing mirror putting on her earrings when she stopped, and looked up at the ceiling with a bemused expression.

"Babe, would you ever think that Kacie would be interested in a man like Grant? I mean, Jessica was always the more vivacious one of our daughters, but Kacie is the deep one, and even though they say opposites attract, I just do not believe it..I mean look at us, we are so much alike it is scary! And we are still in love as much as when we first..."her voice went soft at the thought, and he snuck up behind her to lift her hair for the softness of her neck to be revealed.

"Are you suggesting that you would want Kacie and Grant together? As in break Jessies heart by stealing her fiancé? You want your daughters to have a relationship like you had with Carrie?"

"Fiddle dee dee!! I never stole a fiancé from Carrie and you know it!" her petulance at his accusation was so cute, he had to smile.

"Well, let us put it this way, you never succeeded quite, now did you?" he gave her newly inserted earring a flick so he could enjoy its dazzling effect as it went back and forth.

"Ok, enough about them, what do you make of what Ace has to say about this Eva girl? Do you think she is right for him?"

"Samantha, it is not our decision to make, it is his, now if you were to be asking me about our other son and this little moxie he seems to be chasing after, I might have to offer an opinion."

"Why is that? I thought you said we were to let them make their own decisions..what changed your mind?"

"This", and he handed over the article about the woman, and the ex boyfriend who had sold his story to the rag.

"As well as this," EJ then showed her the piece written by Chelsea that was circulating over the globe. Nothing was flattering that was written about the young woman, but the most disturbing thing was the accusation that had been made by one of her employers that she had attempted to steal his trade secrets on his racing strategies. EJ was now worried about his old employee's daughter being in a position to use his son. Justin was a very well respected highly talented racer, and it would not be fair for someone to use him or his positon to further her agenda. EJ had already formed his prejudices, but he was withholding absolute judgment until he met the girl.

"EJ, I have talked to Justin, whatever Chelsea wrote, you should wait to see..what happened to her was awful, and if he had not been there to intervene, she might even have been killed.."

"I understand, but see, she has awakened that protective instinct in him, and that will make his own judgment cloudy! He cannot afford to be foggy bottom minded on a race track! "EJ threw down both papers in a huff, trying to find a way to make Samantha see it his way, and knowing it was not going to happen.

"Well, sweet, we shall just have to let them all make their own decisions..and I am sure it is all going to be fine once we get into Salem and can meet all of them together. Now, you promise to be fair to Matthew if he does seem to be interested in Jessica. Age is not the problem or at least not one that cannot be solved by love!"

**Chapter XXV**

The night time skies over the Atlantic were still as the big Lear Jet with the Phoenix Mythic logo sailed through the darkness. Matthew was settling in for a quiet computer logged flight plan, and getting ready to bite into the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich the attendant had brought in for him. Jess had only asked for some tea, which she sipped out of the mug at her side.

"Looks like we will be right on time into Detroit, I bet you are excited to see Mischa..how old is she now?"

"Turned six, two weeks ago, and I was in London on assignment, I did not make it in for her party. I talked to her on the phone and she was trying not to cry, neither her mother or I were there." As he took a mouthful of the sandwich, he looked up to see the pity in her eyes. She could never remember her parents not being present for a birthday for any of them, imagining neither one of them being there was too much to contemplate.

"Wait, I mean if Dad had any idea, there is no way he would have not allowed you to be there for her!" Jessica knew her father, and family was the most important thing in the world to him, he would never have stood in the way of Matthew being with his child on her birthday.

"I didn't say it was your Dad's fault. It was mine. Sometimes it just hurts too much to see her, I think of her mother, and how much I loved her, then how it all changed when Mischa was born." As Matthew made this startling confession, Jess felt her heart melt with pity for him.

"Matthew, do you think that Mischa blames you somehow for Chelsea leaving? Is that why you are afraid to see her? Or do you think that maybe, just maybe, Mischa thinks you blame her for that as well?"

"A little of both I guess." He had decided to lay all the cards on the table, because he wanted to get down to some brass tacks of his own.

"Jessica, I think we both know there is something going on here, I mean with us..can we talk honestly about it? If I am wrong, then all I ask is that you say it to me..and this is the perfect place..I mean you cannot send me away, at least not without a parachute", he had said the words, and was now waiting on his moment of truth.

"I know, God help me, I know. Matthew, sometimes I have stayed away from Salem because I still remember the night I cried myself to sleep when you married Chelsea. Each time I would walk into the house, there was a picture hanging on the wall of me in your wedding party. I looked so sad, and I think I shredded up that dress so I would never have to look at it again. I think I have loved you since the day at Ace and Kacies fifth birthday party, when you danced with me, and I was almost nine. I stood on your shoes, and you waltzed with me! I remember looking up into your eyes and wishing I were older, and prettier, like Chelsea.

"The only thing is Matt, I have Grant to think about now. I can't hurt him like this. We have a commitment to each other". Jessica finished up her tea, and put it onto the tray, finding that he had taken hold of her hand and was not going to let it go.

"No! This is not how it is going to be, if you love me, and I really think you do, and I know that I love you, half hearted commitments do not count. Don't you think it would hurt Grant more to find out he married a woman who does not love him the way he should be loved..hell, he probably already knows you don't love him the way he should be loved.? Ask yourself, what would your own mother have done? She had many reasons to stay away from EJ, her family, his family, her son and his father! But she loved EJ and he loved her, and theirs is a love for the history books! So would ours be!

Jess, we have to try it if it feels this strong to both of us! Please say we can try!"

"I can't say no, I should, God knows I should, but I just can't. You're right, I do want to try, so lets get this bird on the ground so I can meet Mischa..I mean what will we do if she hates me on sight?"

"That could never happen!" Matthew knew Mischa would love Jess as a mother, who would not?

Regulations required pilots to have eight hours down time, even in the private airline industry. Two more Mythic pilots came on to relieve Jess and Matthew in Detroit. When Mischa was brought on board, both Matthew and Jess were back in the lounge to greet her, and she ran into her fathers arms with a joyful leap, before shyly looking over towards Jess.

"Remember I told you about Jessica and how I was going to bring her to meet you?" solemnly, the dark headed child nodded her head, as she gave Jess the total once over. Jess was nervous as she stepped forward to meet the child.

"I hate you! You're ugly and mean!"and with that, she buried her head into her fathers lap.

**Chapter XXVI**

Kacie tossed and turned in her sleep, not waking, but not quiet sleeping when the vision took over her mind. Trying to will it away did not work, it only came stronger, until she faced the dreadful reality it was bringing her in the form of a hideous nightmare and came to wakefulness. She sat up straight in bed, heaving with waves of nausea overcoming her, when Grant came out of his exhausted sleep to find her fighting for her breath to tell him what was wrong!

"Jess..her plane, Grant! Oh God Grant! They crashed! They crashed!"She clutched at him, trying to tell him what she knew without being told. He could only stare at her, not knowing why she would be saying this. The stories of Kacie and her "gift" had always been kind of hidden a bit. Kacie did not like it discussed outside the inner family and it was a part of her work she would never talk about with him.

"What are you talking about Kacie? You had a bad dream is all..come here to me, you are shaking, " he tried to comfort her, but her wild eyed stare and her head shaking along with the cold sweat and trembling she was having told him something was horribly wrong with her.

"I have to call my parents!" and her fingers were punching in the numbers, but not working, until he saw her inability to finish the task and did it for her.

"Mr. Wells, I mean EJ, this is Grant, Kacie has to talk to you!" EJ was looking at the time on his phone, and before he could formulate the question of why the hell Grant was with his daughter at this time of night, Kacie was on the phone with words that crumpled him to his knees, wailing with agony for he understood Kacie's visions as well as anyone in the family did.

"EJ! What is wrong!" Sami had come out of her sound sleep, and saw her husband rocking back and forth on the floor, the phone still in his hand, when finally he found a bit of control and went back to his daughter.

"Do you see anything else Kacie, survivors? Location? Try Kacie! Try!" her father was yelling his demands at her, but she could not clarify anything else for him, and now it was Sami's turn to feel the fear every parent dreads. She tried to get the phone to ask her own questions, but EJ was having none of it! Each time she would grab for it, he would twist away, til finally she managed to get to the speaker button and push it down. Kacie's words came over the line, echoing through the stateroom with her tear filled voice.

"I don't know Dad, it is all white, so it must be in the snow..I am trying..I swear to you I am! Ok, the child, I see the child is alive! That is all I know for certain now..Can't we call the FAA or something, what about that box thing? " with the vision was now coming pure physical pain, making her grab her stomach and bend over with cramps.

EJ felt his child's distress, and his protective instinct took over then. "Talk to your mother, I need to get hold of Harris! I will want you and Grant ready to be picked up by car in half an hour, ok, don't cry baby, you have done so well, you are so brave, I love you so much..and I know Jess is alive! I feel it..don't you feel it as well?"

"Mom, oh God Mom, why? I feel as though God is punishing me now! Why has he made me see this, why do I have to see this?" I need you Mommie..." the childhood name for her mother came from her deepest soul, a cry of need and distress and Sami felt her heart break for the second time that morning.

Once EJ had Harris on the phone, it was only a few minutes before he was smiling with relief, and hanging up.

"Hey, it is all a mistake, the plane just checked in for landing clearance rights in Buenos Aires, they are fine, just fine. They will be on the ground in a half hour there.! And you young lady are in trouble for scaring us half to death !"

Kacie processed that information, but Grant saw all that happened was that she had gone even whiter than before. Before she could answer, they could hear the other phone ringing in the background, the special phone her father used only to communicate with Harris or Matthew on special projects or missions. The stillness of her mother on the phone told Kacie all she needed to know, as Grant took her into his arms to comfort her when her father came back on the line, his voice resigned with worry and the beginnings of grief.

"Kacie, that was Harris, ground has lost contact with the Phoenix jet, you were right.They have gone down, within the last ten minutes.!"

Ace pulled up to the curb , then raced up to bring Eva and her bags down to the car. Her employers and her charges had already left, so he felt bold enough to just pull her into his arms to give her the biggest kiss of hello he wanted. Knowing he could hug her as long as he wanted was a gift he wanted to savor, with the thought that maybe he might finally make love to her at some time the next week dancing about in his head, this was shaping up to be the best week he would have in his life! Once in the car, he sped towards the airport where he was going to introduce her to his big sister, then wait on his brother and Phaedra to join them. Looking at his watch, it was just about time for the Mythic Jet to be landing.

The alarm went off as the phone began to ring next to his bed, and Justin disentangled himself from the arms and legs of the dark haired beauty in the bad with him. She still slept soundly, of that he was glad. It was going to be a busy day, and with the night he had given her, she needed the rest.

Coming bolt upright, Justin heard the words his father was saying, but willed himself to refuse to hear them, not Jess!, Not his twin sister he had spent half his life sparring with, but who he would have followed into the fires of hell if she asked him to help her!

"Dad! Ace is probably at the airport now, he wanted to get there early to meet Jessica! He won't even know until he gets there what happened, I will have to see if I can reach him to turn back! When will you all be landing? I will make sure you are all picked up..now what else can I do?"

Whatever needed to be done was underway, Harris had made arrangements for the family to fly in on a charter, the international aeronautics boards were being pulled into action to start the search for where the plane had gone down, and with Kacie coming, Justin knew they would soon know where his sister was, and whether or not she had survived.

**Chapter XXVIII**

"Daddy! Daddy!" the cries of the child finally made it through to the shocked conscious of Jessica. The warm sticky substance trickling down her eye kept her from seeing clearly, til she had wiped it with her tattered sleeve and seen it came away red smeared. When she tried to sit upright, the pain in her side knocked her back down, but she knew she had to make it to the source of the crying. One elbow crawling was not easy, but inch by inch she made it to the sound and the sight of Mischa in her pale yellow dress, curled up beside the still figure of Matthew.

From her flight medical training she was pretty sure she had some broken ribs. Now she would have to keep from those broken bones puncturing a lung, or somehow causing internal bleeding. From looking about, and feeling how cold it was getting, the lounge part of the plane looked to have separated from the cockpit, and the galley area. When she looked up, she saw the massive rip in the crafts body and the opening to the outdoors where the cockpit area should have been.

"Mischa...I'm here darling, are you hurt?" Jessica was holding back her own pain as she looked the child over, and was relieved to see other than the fright she would expect, she seemed to be fine. Matthew, however was un conscious, with a wound to his scalp that was bleeding badly, but thank God, he was alive. Now Jessica had to gather all her wits about her, and try to keep Mischa calm as she was the only one who had the ability to move about without causing further injury.

"Sweetheart..we need to help your daddy..can you help me do that, he needs you ok?" Jess had to make an ally of this little person who had disliked her on sight, and preferred she go no where near her daddy!

Mischa wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her dress and with a lower lip protruding gave a up and down nod to Jess.

"Good girl! Now you see that door over there, I need you to see if you can open it, make it go from red to green on the dial and it will open up. There should be some water in there, and under the black cabinet, there is a red cross painted on a door, bring me everything you find in there ok?"

It took her seven trips carrying all those boxes and bottles, but she persevered, even while stepping over the body of the flight attendant. She had at first turned to Jess with a look of questioning, and Jess had firmly told her, "yes he is dead honey, but we are going to come out of this ok, you just keep doing what you are doing, I promise, we are going to be ok, so bring me the stuff quick, baby, quickly!" she urged her on, and began digging for the medical supplies and the emergency instructions on what do do.

"Are you a doctor too?" Mischa questioned as she watched Jess open up the package of intravenous needles.

"Of course, that is why your Daddy is in good hands now, so don't you worry a bit" Jess lied smoothly as she fumbled with the tubing to start the dextrose and saline for Matthew. His main problem seemed to be shock, and once she got the solution started, and made sure he was warm, he would come around, at least that is what the first aid book said.

"Mischa, can you bring all the blankets you can find..there should be some in that closet, and bring the ones on the sofa as well, we need to make sure your daddy is warm." Once the girl was given a task, she stuck to it, almost like she was afraid to see what would happen if she had to just stop and see what the situation she was in really was. In a couple of minutes, she had piled eight blankets on top of her father. Then she had fixed a piercing stare on the fumbling efforts Jessica was making to insert the needle into the hand of her helpless father. When it almost seemed to be an impossible task, she had felt the needle ease into place, and saw the drip of solution start. The pain in her side increased tenfold as she stretched to find a place to hang it on an elevated sight.

"Mischa, I want you to drink some water now, ok, you need to stay hydrated"

"What does that mean"

"It means you cannot get thirsty".

"I'm not thirsty"

"Honey, please drink it, you need to do that for me please".

The natural stubbornness she had inherited from her mother was picking a very bad time to surface, but here it was. "I said I am not thirsty..ok?"

It was then that the miracle that Jessica was starting to pray for came true. "Mischa..please..do as she says..for me ok?" the voice was weak, but Matthew had come out of his stupor with the ability to assess the situation with the training he used instinctively. He looked down at the needle in his hand and smiled to Jessica.

"You know you went all the way through my vein the first time, I think that is what woke me up!"He knew he had to make it upright to get his bearings, even though it was an effort, but when he saw how Jessica was breathing, he knew the doctor patient relationship had to switch over now! Within the kit, he saw what he might have to use, but at least he could feel that he was not in too bad a shape. She was worrying him as he could see how shallow she kept her breaths, and the fact that she leaned to one side.

"Broke a rib or two have we?"that did not concern him, but he feared all her moving about in treating him could have punctured her lungs and caused blood build up in the air pockets which could be serious. He knew that the equipment on the plane would be sending strong signals to search efforts, and he knew EJ Wells would not be sparing any efforts to find them, now he just wanted to see if he could figure out where they were himself.

He fought to stand, and Jess protested his movement by trying to hold him down, "Look, I am alright, I just want to peek outside and see if I can get a fix..don't sweat it, take care of Mischa, I have had worse hangovers than this little head banger!"

**Chapter XXIX**

It was dizzying to see the vast expanse of white that the fuselage was buried up in, even worse when Matthew looked down in to the clouds that obscured the valley floor. The cockpit was no where to be seen, and that held the object that might have told him he was right in where he assumed they had crashed, the GPS box. Now he had to hope that the cockpit was somewhere in the general area so that the transponder would signal that this part of the plane was here. He knew the history of South American air disasters, and often the currents or avalanches could separate the planes parts for miles. Having looked over the flight plan, he was now certain they were probably somewhere on Mount Anacuango, probably about thirteen thousand feet up, since the air was not so thin as to be painful to breath in, which also fit with how they would have been approaching Buenos Aires. This was good news, the rescue teams would have an easier time of it.

He decided to be even more positive, the pinging of the box was going to make the searchers find the right area, then grabbing up some of the snow he went back inside to make an ice pack for Jessica. The trust in her eyes as he unbuttoned her jacket then used a pillowcase to form a cold pack that he lay against her ribs gave him a pause, and for a second he felt as though he had to kiss her, until the presence of his daughter shivering made him remember he had two people to take care of. "I know it is going to be cold, but we have to keep anymore swelling down". She took the discomfort in stride, knowing he was right.

Mischa had sat next to Jessica, having decided it was less scary to be next to her as the wind started to howl through the cabin area. It was also a bit warmer. Matthew saw her shiver, and looked about for her case, finding it and pulling out warmer clothing for her. It took some effort, but he then removed the dead body of the attendant to the outside, covering it up with some of the fresh snow, and plane parts to keep any animals there might be around here away. Even at this height there could be predators.

There was not much to burn laying around, but he finally found a way to use what was available to warm up a pot of hot water which made each of them a small cup of noodle soup. When it threatened to come back up due to her coughing, he helped her by pressing her ribcage to hold it still until she could swallow. All of this effort had finally gotten to all of them, and as the cold settled in to make the night a hell for all three, they huddled together, sharing the warmth they could create, waiting and praying they would not freeze to death in the night.

Ace pulled into the house compound, running in to give Justin a hug of shared grief. Eva came behind, then found her way to the kitchen to see what help she could offer where she found Phaedra already in there, but totally confused at the appliances, dials, and array of pots and pans.

"I..I..wanted to help, make some food or something for the family when they get here, but I can't cook..I feel so helpless..Eva..my God, Justin..his sister..I just don't know what to do! The cook is off today, can you help me please?"

Eva had never been around someone who could not cook, it was like breathing to her, so she took control of the kitchen from Phaedra, but was patient as she showed her how to prepare the vegetables for the soup recipe she knew would be a good dish to have on hand for the arriving family, as well as a good dish to take in insulated containers if they joined the rescue effort. Ace had already said he was experienced in climbing the Andes, if that ended up where the plane was, he was going to be with the search party.

"When do they land?" Justin was on the phone with Harris, who was also enroute with a handpicked crew. The plane from California was due in at three that afternoon, with Harris about two hours behind.

"We will be ready..have you heard where the plane might have gone down? Has the box signal been located yet?" the questions were not to be given answers by Harris yet, he had no knowledge from official sources at this time, and it killed him to not be able to give any sort of reassurance to the brother of the child he had loved all her life as well.

Samantha sat with her family in the planes lounge, ignoring the food and other refreshments that had been arranged for them, staring out the window a watching the water and clouds pass beneath, willing it to go faster so she could be nearer Jessica. EJ rubbed his jaw in a circular motion, a gesture he often used when under stress, getting up often to go up front to discuss progress with the crew. He knew he could not make it go any swifter, but he could not help himself.

Grant was the most uncomfortable he had ever been in his life. Neither EJ or Sami had paid a lot of attention to him, not wanting to find out something else that would make the loss of Jessica more painful. The unspoken truth hung in the cabin like a cloud, but he kept himself busy with making the others comfortable and aiding the cabin attendant as best he could, then when he could, asking Kacie if she needed anything.

She would smile at him to let him know nothing was his fault, but then she would bend down to a sketch she seemed so focused on. The picture she was trying to see was important, she knew it, but the image would not sharpen. Squinting her eyes together helped a bit, but when she opened them, it was gone again. "Damnit! Jess, help me, you have to help me!"

Within the frigid interior where the three survivors huddled together, Jess was suddenly warmed by a dream of her little sister, they were holding each other in Kacie's bed, talking about the wedding of Chelsea and Matthew, with Kacie wiping the tears of Jess and comforting her sisters broken fourteen year old heart!

That was all it took! Kacie screamed out in the cabin" I see them! I see them!", as she furiously drew on the white sheet of paper the picture of the mountain, the name of the closest village, and a map to where her sister could be found!

EJ ran back to her, his eyes wild with hope as well as disbelief! He grabbed his daughter by the shoulders, hauling her to her feet, "Are you sure?" his face as he looked at her now showing an expression of joy as he read the confirmation in her eyes. Handing him the paper, she sobbed against his chest as he rubbed her back, hugging her and rocking her in that old familiar gesture of comfort from her childhood.

Sami had held back for just a moment, until she too knew the certainty in her daughters claim was real. Accepting the positive was as hard as the negative had been as she pulled on the rosary she had been fingering around her neck. When she felt safe enough she threw her arms around her daughter, thanking her for the gift of hope! EJ whooped out in triumph! Then he began placing the calls for Harris to set the search in motion. All the links, resources, and influential contacts that came with the baggage of the DiMera organization were pulled into action all for the sole purpose of bringing Jessica and any other survivors home safe and sound.

**Chapter XXX**

Eva took over the household quite efficiently, earning the admiration of EJ and Samantha, while Phaedra stood off in a corner, not quite certain what she should do. Here she was in the presence of a man who had been her inspiration for all she had ever done with engines, a man who had respected and loved her father, but when he looked at her, she felt he found her wanting in every respect. At last, Eva seemed to take pity on her, and gave her an armful of linens with instructions to go make up the two guest rooms. Phaedra was fluffing up the sheets for the bed when she turned to see Justin's mother standing in the doorway looking at her.

"My son seems to care a great deal for you, how do you feel about that?" Sami came into the room, and took a corner of the sheet to help the bed get made a bit faster as Phaedra did not seem up to most domestic tasks. That slightly amused Sami as she had never been that way inclined either. Clearing her throat, then deciding to be honest, Phaedra told Sami what she felt.

"I cannot imagine Justin is even remotely concerned about me right now, so until his sister is back safely, I do not want to talk about it. I know you and your husband probably do not think I am suitable, that I am some kind of pit rat hanging around, the kind who goes out drinking with the guys and all that. You would be right, I mean I have hung out with them, I speak their language, I play a mean game of darts, their dirty jokes don't give me the vapors...Justin knows all of this about me, and he accepts it. But you have to know this, if nothing else..I see how your husband looks at me, and I have had people look at me that way all through my career..I am not a whore, and I did not sleep my way to where I am now.!"

Sami smiled at the spirit the girl displayed. It was true, EJ was not warming up to her quickly, as he did with Eva. It reminded her of how her father had felt towards EJ in the beginning.

"If Justin thinks you are worth his love, who am I to judge? My son does have his own mind, and if he sees something in you, I do not think it will be long until my husband does as well..now tuck that corner in tighter or the bottom sheet will come loose first time EJ turns over..then he will be griping!"

The smells from the kitchen were a blend of savory and spices that EJ found irrestible. He was starting to be hungry, and the soup and bread smells were enticing him. Grant was in the midst of it all helping Eva whose white apron tied snugly about her slim waist, as she stirred, sampled, and re seasoned when she tasted the need of it. When she looked up at him, she pointed at the pot, and he nodded gratefully as she ladled some of it into a bowl for him.

"Excellent! You are a very talented cook!"

"Oh, but Grant is the one who helped it to come alive! He is a genius in the kitchen!"

Giving a harrumph, EJ continued eating, while eyeballing Grant. He had not decided to confront him yet, that would happen once Jessica was off that blasted mountain. The boys were getting the helicopter pilots ready to go, and would be picking EJ up in twenty minutes. The coldness of the stare from EJ on the back of his neck gave Grant the impetus to track down Kacie and see if he could get just one moment alone with her.

Eva made her way about the kitchen, making it spic and span, under the watchful eye of EJ.

"Eva, you seem like a woman with a real head on her shoulders. I like that! I think it is important that Ace have someone like you, he tends to be a bit of a dreamer, not that there is anything wrong with that, but a good steady woman like you is something that would do him good!" Spooning the soup into his mouth, EJ gave her a thumbs up approval. "I only wish Justin had exhibited the same good sense.

Her head tilted up at him, "Phaedra is who Justin loves, it was obvious to me and Ace the first time we saw them together. You may have to learn to accept the fact Mr. Wells..he does not want the same things in life as Ace, or the same type of woman. Phaedra is a good person, and as long as she loves your son what is the problem?"

"Fact is, I have been around her type a lot on the circuit. Pit groupies are a dime a dozen, and from what I hear, she is one who just can handle a wrench is all". When EJ saw Eva's frozen glance, he stopped, but without turning he knew what he would see if he turned around behind him. Phaedra and Sami had come down to the kitchen to get a bite, and without a word, Phaedra had turned to run into the hall to grab her purse, then out the door.

Three blocks away she found a cab stand and hailed the first one that pulled into the zone. Within the darkness of the cab, she let the tears slide silently down her cheeks. When the driver asked her destination she had asked for the airport. With any luck, the departure of a red eye for London would be available, there was just enough room on her credit card to manage the fare, and she had her passport with her. She knew she should have listened to her doubts about getting close to Justin, it was not professional, and it would probably mean she would never again work the circuit. The pictures on a tabloid had convinced Justin's father, they would easily convince other race crews that she was an easy mark. It was time to go home, lick her wounds, and reassess her life, a life that would not include Justin Wells in it.

When she had ran out, EJ had followed her, because his wife had yelled at him to stop her, but the lass was quite the sprinter, and long legged as he was, she made him lose his breath after the first block trying to catch her. When the cab pulled out, he hailed the next one, only to lose her in the traffic within minutes.

"Damn!" he knew he was in for it. First he would catch hell from Samantha, then from Justin. When he walked back into the house to face the accusing looks of both Samantha and Eva, his head had bowed. He knew he was in the wrong, but all he could say to them was," We need to let Justin concentrate on Jessica now, can you both just let us take care of that, then I swear I will make sure she comes back!"

Grant and Kacie both watched as EJ made the case, but they were surprised when Sami agreed with him.

"EJ, I hate what you did, what you said, and how you judged that poor girl! Only you are right, we do need Justin and Ace's help right now, and they need to keep the focus on Jess..so I am not going to say anything, we will say she is out on errands or something..but as soon as Jess is down here safe, you better be turning on that DiMera machine to find her and bring her back here! "

**Chapter XXXI**

Harris was going to fly the chopper with the Wells men in it, he was the only one among them rated to go to the higher altitudes even though all of them were pilots. The medical choppers would be following his lead. EJ could only sit beside him, trusting in his ability as they made their way towards the menacing outline of the mountain where his daughter waited for rescue. He kept Kacie on the line, just in case she picked up any physic signals from Jessica, but so far, Kacie was silent. EJ was glad Justin was too preoccupied with worry now to say anything about how Phaedra had not been there to see them off.

"Kacie, would you like some hot tea?" Grant was there as she turned around, the concern in his eyes was so apparent, she had to turn away so her mother would not notice how much his presence was affecting her. She took the cup, but what she really wanted was to be able to melt against his strength, letting him comfort her. It would not be right, but it was what she wanted. Stealing a look over to where her mother sat, she saw that she was not even looking at them, she sat still, staring into space, as she waited on word about her little girl.

"Have you felt ...? Grant was trying to ask, but could not bring himself to acknowledge this gift or curse that Kacie had. She gave a small nod of her head towards the little room at the side, and walked into it, as he followed.

"I have not had anything from her since today on the plane..God Grant! What if she has died up there? I have been sleeping with you, cheating with my own sisters fiancé, and I know my parents know, I can see it in Dad's eyes when he looks at you!"

"I know, Kace, I know. Only she is not dead...she cannot be dead, it would be too wrong of God to do that to her!" Grant finally gave in to his impulse, and pulled her to him for both her comfort and his. The kiss was not made from guilt, but love, and neither of them could deny or stop it!

"Matthew..Matthew..do you hear that?' Jessica had awoken to the sounds of a motor thumping in the distance. She shook him, trying to rouse him from his sleep, and finally succeeding! He was angry at himself for sleeping at all, that was the first step in giving in to hypothermia. Mischa was in between them, and seemed to be warm enough so he let her sleep on. He strained his ears, finally catching the sound Jess was referring to.

"It's a chopper! Stay inside!" Matthew knew one other danger could still befall them even with the helicopters coming in..avalanche! Stepping out into the icy darkness he saw the search lights hitting on the partially buried part of the fuselage that til now might have been their tomb. He pulled one of the laser flares he had taken from the kit, pointing the red light at the sound of the chopper, sobbing with relief as he heard it turn on a dead straight line to where he was waving the light!

The first stretcher down took Jessica, while the chopper hovered, the rescue team lowered themselves down to hook her into the guerney, then signaled for her to be hoisted up. Her breathing was shallow, but steady, so the worst complication that could have happened with her injury seemed to have been avoided. Then it was time for Matthew to go up with Mischa.

"Honey, you trust your daddy don't you? You know I would not let anything happen to you right?" Her round dark eyes that were so much like Chelsea's were open wide and she blinked hard before she gave him the answer of yes he knew she would.

"Ok then, I need you to hold me around the neck as tight as you ever have, put your feet in these loops and hold me tight with your knees..tight as you can baby..ok.." She was cinched in, but even that was not foolproof, many factors could change with the dangerous conditions

The chopper with Jess on board had already started down to the lower elevations of the village, Matthew saw it go into the darkness, saying a prayer that things would go as smoothly for Mischa and him. The rescue team was on board, and he gave the tug for them to haul him and his daughter up as well. The rumble on the mountain gave him a sickening realization, and he heard and felt the cliff of snow coming down upon them!

The pilot at the helm was EJ, and he also heard what was coming. He knew Matthew would know what to do, so he pulled back to make the chopper elevate in a straight up motion, angling it as well to get away from the wall of smoky white that was barreling down, gaining momentum as it barreled down, burying then carrying away the remains of the plane below them!

"Aiiiieeeeeeeee...!!!!!!!!" Mischas terrified screams echoed, and she forgot the admonition to hang on, letting go a bit to clutch at her father which then left her dangling by only the cinch tie as she fluttered about in the blackness, still screaming her lungs out!

**Chapter XXXII**

The line swung to and fro in an arch beneath the helicopter, a result of not being able to go smoothly up, while trying to avoid the onrush of the cauldron of rolling snow and ice. What seemed like an eternity was a couple of minutes until the chopper had cleared the area of the mountain that was sliding down toward the cliff valleys. Matthew's hands frantically grabbed at the empty air as the line would swing out, his daughter was bent over backward, her arms flailing about, her legs still caught up in the stirrups, but if he was not able to grasp her quickly, the danger was her small legs would slip out of the line, and she would be falling into the void.

Her screams had stopped, but he knew she had fainted from shock and fear, which meant she would not be able to follow his instructions, as well as being a dead weight when he grabbed her. Willing his arms to grow longer, he kept attempting to bend down to grasp her by the hair, the collar, anything, only to find the line would swing and he would lose whatever grip he had managed to find.

Harris knew the problem Matthew was having, and he began to steady out the chopper to hold at a pattern that would be more stable. In the wind it was almost impossible, but he kept trying until at last he had a moment of stability!

"He has her up! Pull them in!" Ace was leaning out, and saw the hand signal that Matthew was giving them, as he had hold of his daughter by the collar of her jacket now! He kept hold, pulling on more and more of the material, not caring that he was choking her a bit, and finally she was conscious, but this time too frightened to scream anymore, only seeking to hang on to whatever handhold her father was offering her.

EJ reached out to bring the child inside, while Ace gave final assistance to Matthew.

Mischa gave in to all the fears she had held in, with a wail of distress and the cry of "I want Mommy!"

EJ thought it was a way to comfort her, so he told her, "Hey, guess what? Your mommy was at the airport when we took off to go get you!"

She looked at him with a look reserved for only the most silly of people before telling him, "My mommy is in Detroit, her name is Sandra!"

Matthew was quick to offer explanation,"Mischa has been raised by my sister since Chelsea left..Chelsea has only seen Mischa once in the past four years..I guess I never told you that, Sandra is the only mother she knows."

"I see." EJ had never bothered to inquire how Matthew was raising his child, and this bothered him. His family had always been his priority, but he had neglected this man, sending him wherever he wanted, without knowing what effect it was on his family life. It seemed it had not been an ideal family situation. Chelsea had asked and gotten overseas assignments, and Matthew had remained the good soldier, following all orders and doing his duty always, to the detriment of knowing his little girl.

"Jessica?" Matthew had curled his daughter up into his lap, warming her with the blankets, and a cup of hot chocolate, and his one word demand on the condition of Jess might have annoyed EJ, except for the fact that he knew the fact his daughter was alive probably had a great deal to do with the fact that Matthew had been with her when this happened.

"A couple of cracked ribs, maybe a punctured lung, but she is going to be fine."

His eyes closed in relief, Matthew then turned his attention to Mischa. "I am never going to leave you again, I want you with me" he whispered to her, meaning every word.

"I wanna be with you too Daddy..are you gonna marry with Jessica?"

The two men stared at each other, neither one giving ground, and all Matthew said was, "we shall see, baby, we shall see."

Both Justin and Ace looked to see their fathers reaction to that, but they both thought better of making any kind of comment.

"Man it is cold!" Justin rubbed his hands, "I think all I want to do is get home and haul Phaedra into bed and snuggle all night long! What about you Ace? Eva gonna warm you up tonight?" Justin was trying to ease some of the tension, but when he saw EJ tense up, he stopped.

"Sorry, but Dad, we are all grown ups here, it is my house, so I hope you and Mom don't have any puritanical objections.."

"Justin, we have to talk..."

**Chapter XXXIII**

It was close to landing time, and Phaedra got up from her seat to make her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair. She figured she had used up the last of her the room on her credit card with the on plane call to Malcom. He promised to have will call tickets for her at the Heathrow Express, and to meet her at Picadilly station with rail tickets to Pendeen, along with some of the clothes she had left at his apartment last year. She knew if Justin tried to look for her, he would have the resources of his father at his disposal, the credit card trail and the ATM withdrawals of her savings account would be like the pebbles left in the old fairy tale leading straight to her. She had managed to make two withdrawals in Buenos Aires, and one in London, the five hundred pounds in her purse would have to last until she made it back to Pendeen and the garage.

Part of her hoped that Justin would come for her, another part dreaded the possibility. Her whole career had been based on overcoming the perception his father had of her. She had lived with it, taking on each obstacle and prejudice as she made others respect her, earning it and demanding it. So why had one silly comment made by a man who had been her hero hurt her this badly..enough to leave a man she knew she loved? She knew it was because part of her rejected what EJ and in the end Justin would find important. Family. The idea of settling down and raising children had never been her dream. She wanted and lived for the excitement of the track! When she found the exact tolerance an engine required to make the most of what a driver could do she was in heaven! It seemed EJ recognized that part of her, and wanted to protect Justin from what could have turned out to be the worst mistake of his life. The hours of the flight had given her time to think it out, and she also wanted Justin to have what he seemed to value above all things..a family of his own. It was not something she was prepared to give him at this time. Her plan now was to spend a few months in Pendeen, the small Cornish village she had been born and raised in, living in the family cottage, while picking up some spare quid working as an ad hoc mechanic. She had been known to be the best in the area as a kid, then when things died down, she would venture out on the lower echelon circuit again, working her way up once more. Working with newer drivers would sharpen her skills, until she was secure enough to go back to prime time.

The hospital waiting room in Buenos Aires was full of the Wells family, Harris with his wife, Chandler, as well as Liam, their son who had also arrived with his mother. Chelsea and Theo were also allowed to wait with them, but once Chelsea heard that Mischa was well, she was ready to leave. Her interest in her child was non existent, she was not maternal, and knew it had been a mistake to get pregnant, it was only that Matthew had nagged at her so much that she had acquiesced. She was happy that the child was safe, but now she had a story to chase in Pakistan, the Taliban government there was about to execute several women found to be of ill repute, and she was going in undercover to get footage for Mythic!

Eva was waiting with Sami, Kacie and Grant. Justin came into the room, hugging his mother and sister first, shaking Grants hand, giving Eva a peck on the cheek, then he stopped, realizing who was missing. His father had not wanted to say more during the chopper ride, other than his cryptic 'we need to talk', but when Justin saw Phaedra was not there, he turned to his father.

"Did you say something to her? I saw the way you looked at her, I heard your voice when you talked over her, what did you do Dad? Where the hell is she? Mom! Did you have something to do with this as well?!! His anger at his father spilled onto his mother.

"Justin! Bloody hell! Your sister almost died, she is lying in that room now, badly injured, in shock! Can't you forget your little tram..."he stopped before saying the word, but it was enough to let Justin's instincts take over.

Sprinting to the lot where his car was parked, Justin had but one thought. If she had gone anywhere it would be to the garage, he would find her, he would make whatever his family had done right..she had to come back to him..he knew he could not live without her!

The garage was empty. The new engine she had worked on gleamed in its perfection as it sat in the casing. Justin got in, pushed the button to open the garage doors, and roared out into the darkness of the practice track. His anger was a blinding, raging thing, taking over his normal good sense as he pushed the new engine to its limits, and when the skid came, he welcomed it as a way to exert his control over something finally. The wall loomed closer, and as the skid continued, Justin realized this was not under his control, the last thought he had before colliding with the bricks was of how he hated his father and mother for driving Phaedra away for not fitting into their mold of perfection in life!

Kacie had tried Justins cell phone for hours, never getting an answer, leaving frantic voice mails. All of them had been ignored by him. Then her connection with her brother manifested itself, much as her connection with Jessica had. The flames and smoke revealed the crash to her, she saw the paramedics loading him onto the guerney, heard the ambulance wailing as it wound its way into the heart of the city, and as the doors to the emergency room opened, Kacie had run down to it, the rest of the family in hot pursuit!

**Chapter XXXIV**

In all the years of their marriage, EJ and Sami had faced danger, family discord with the Brady's, threats of death from the council, DiMera shenanigans brought about by power plays that seemed to never make any sense in the long run. Never had anything like this befallen them. When the doctors emerged from the surgery, just seeing the expression on their faces made Sami and EJ collapse against each other. After the relief of finding out Jessica was in no danger, this seemed like a cruel twist of fate.

"He is comatose, very little brain activity. We would recommend you terminate life support and if you have it in your heart, perhaps you would consider organ donation?" the words came from the surgeon, but EJ refused to acknowledge them. His mind would not accept that his son was gone, it was not possible, it was unacceptable, it would not be as long as he had breath in his body.

He turned to Samantha, "you know what we have to do. we cannot just let him go this way without trying it..."he trailed off, and she knew where he was going with this. The medical miracle of the Phoenix had been mothballed after lawsuits had been filed by several patients who had been unhappy with the final outcomes of their cases. Her silence was her permission, and EJ took the doctor aside to ask him to make preparations for EJ to be airlifted to the island where Stefano had stored the medical machinery that had kept him alive for those final few years of life. He and Marlena had both been buried on the island that was off the coast of Belize. The next few hours were occupied with getting the necessary medical personnel readied to move Justin to the facility.

It was two days later when Samantha looked at the calendar and realized the date of their silver wedding anniversary had come and gone. The silver thread of their marriage was still strong, but now their efforts were given over to getting Jessica healed, and facing the other threats that were threatening the very fabric of this families cloth. It was going to take a couple of weeks for Jessica to be well enough to return to Salem for a full recuperation, Justin was already moved, so his house was being used as the gathering place for a very uneasy group.

Her mother had knocked to see if she needed anything, then let her know she was going out to do some shopping for dinner with the cook. Jessica was in the bed, when Grant came in to sit beside her. When he sat on the bed, the gesture seemed so out of place to her, and she knew why. He no longer belonged with her, and she had not the heart to tell him why. The effort to sit up was painful, so she used the pain as a stall technique. "Oh sorry Grant, I just need some rest now..."his face looked relieved as he agreed to let her have her quiet time, and he was able to return to Kacie, with a 'I tried my best look!'

Matthew was in the hallway, watching as Grant left, then saw him turn, and tap lightly on Kacie's door. He knew he should not, but as soon as Grant disappeared, he was inside, looking at her, her blonde hair spilling on the pillow, falling down over her shoulders, and he knew he had to feel it between his fingers. Her eyes beckoned him, her arms opened up to receive him, and he was lying beside her, finding the lips that had haunted his dreams the past few days since she had been out of hospital.

"I love you, you know that don't you Jessica? I can't let you marry him, you don't love him and besides..."he stopped himself, it was not his place to tell her about her sister and Grant. The whole household was keeping this secret, including him. What would she say when she knew?

"I know, I know, I just do not know how to tell him..he was in here earlier, and I sent him out with a lie, he does deserve the truth..but I am such a coward!"

"You are no such thing! Remember what you did on that mountain? Crawling over to Mischa with all the pain you had? Getting me out of shock? Jessica, a coward you are not! All you have to do is do a bit of walking now, go to him, and tell him! I do not think he will be as surprised as you may think!"

Jessica decided she did have to face the facts of this, so she asked Matthew for her robe. Grants room was in the other wing of the house, and she made her way, slowly and carefully to his door. It was slightly ajar, so she entered and waited a bit for his return. It exhibited his usual neatness she saw, everything hung or put in its usual place, except for the items she saw on his bedstand. A small charm bracelet she recognized clearly, as she had given it to her younger sister three years ago as a gift.

So many things became clear to her then! Looks between Kacie and Grant she had wondered about, the harsh way her father looked at Grant when he came into a room! The lack of lovemaking Grant had asked of her for ...she thought quickly, using her mental calendar! Since that time when she had left them at dinner in San Francisco!

Her steps down the hall to her sisters room were not as careful as the ones to Grants, they heard her, they heard the door opening, but there was not enough time to put on any clothing!

**Chapter XXXV**

She threw the bracelet down on the bed like a gauntlet, Kacie turned her head away in shame, while Grant reached down for his trousers to try and salvage some dignity, without much success though, as Jessica kicked them out into the hallway, as she screamed her outrage.

Matthew had seen it all, and could not help his smile from spreading. He had not wanted Jess hurt, but her reticence to do the hurting herself would now be assuaged, so all he would have to do was step in and aid in her healing! He knew EJ would not be pleased, but then, this was almost an EJ playbook move, and when all was said and done, he would want Jessica and Kacie happy. This would give them both what they really wanted! For now, it was just going to be a matter of letting Jess get it out of her system!

"You little bitch! My own sister! With my fiancé! How long has this been going on? It has been since San Francisco hasn't it..my God! That was why you did not answer the phone! Then you have the nerve to go buy my engagement ring! How could you Grant?"

"You told me to! You told me where the ring was, how much it was, and when I was supposed to give it to you! Jess..I wanted to tell you but it was just not ever the right time.."

Kacie stood on her feet, wrapping bed clothes about her body as she joined in as well.

"Oh Jess, I am so sorry..I never wanted to hurt you, but..we..we love each other, and you were so excited about the anniversary party for mom and dad, and how you were going to announce the engagement then..we wanted to wait until you had done that so we would not spoil it for you.."Kacie realized how ridiculous it all sounded, but it had made so much sense at the time!

"I think I am going to be sick now.."Jess had turned away to make her way back to her room, finding herself bent over the toilet bowl, while her ribs racked in agony from the effort. Strong arms then wrapped around her, holding her rib cage in place as she retched, another arm keeping her hair out of her way. Matthew gave her water to rinse with, wiped the sweat from her face as the wash cloth cleaned her up. When she was totally finished, he picked her up, as she sobbed, carrying her to the bed, lying next to her and cradling her until she was able to talk. He rained kisses upon her head as she turned into his shoulder. He knew it was not her heart that was hurt, but her pride. He knew the feeling, it had been that way with Chelsea. It would not be too long before she would look at him the way she had earlier. Grant was no longer a problem, and from what he saw, he was truly in love with Kacie. Within an hour, Samantha had returned and knew the story of all that had happened. While she would have wished this could have happened differently, in her heart she knew this was what was best for all. Her mind had already paired up Matthew with Jessica, and instinct had told her that Grant was the right one for Kacie, plus, it was going to make for some extremely good writing material for her show! Once Justin was well, the woman for him would be tracked down and returned as well. She would settle for nothing less than happy endings for her children!

The news of the accident would take several weeks to make it to Phaedra, as Pendeen was a rather isolated place on the Cornish coast, a desolate place as well, where the villagers kept to themselves, not much caring what went on outside the village limits. EJ had not wanted any conjecture on the condition of Justin , so the lie he let be published was that Justin was in an irreversible coma, and was being cared for in a private facility. Her grief was something she now held close to her heart, along with the faint beating of the new little heart that was growing inside of her as well.

It did not take long for EJ to track where Phaedra had gone, the young man who had befriended her in London was a frequent patron of the gay scene in London. He also was very talkative about how she had introduced him to some of the pit crews who were his 'soulmates'..he had often allowed her to crash at his place during some of her party escapades. Within a couple of months, EJ had an operative tracing the daily activities of the young woman he would have to make return to Justin in order to help him get well. So much would have been easier if she had only been more like Eva.

"Uh Mr. Wells, well yesterday she took a bus into Penzance, made a trip to a Doctor Ames, then on to Boots, filled a couple of prescriptions, then stopped at the Cove Pub, had a shandy, talked a bit with a few people, then went on home on the train. This morning a couple of cars stopped at her shop, one she kept on, the other she did something under the hood and they took off right well..that is about it..whatever you are trying to get on her, she ain't giving me much to get excited about..."

"Didn't you tell me she went to the doctor last month as well..what kind of doctor is this?"

"Seems like just a General Practitioner..not much but kids and pregnant ladies...oooohhh...you think she might be holding a bun in the oven?"

The phrase bothered EJ, and he wondered why, until he realized, this was his grandchild most likely, which the young woman had not even bothered to tell him or his wife about!

**Chapter XXXVII**

"We are still going to have a celebration for Mom and Dad, it will just be a few months after the fact. Eva and Ace are getting married, Kacie and Grant are engaged, there is a lot to celebrate! Plus they are transferring Justin here to Salem. Dad has hired medical teams to watch over him at the house. Mom finally could not stand him being on that island, she wants him home where she can talk to him every day."Jessica was on the phone with Matthew, who was on an assignment in England with her father.

"Mom, can I go play at Tara's house now, her Mommy said it was ok?" it was strange to Jessica how normal it sounded to hear Mischa call her that. The little girl who had hated her on sight now did not like her out of her sight! It had been a quick Las Vegas wedding, not to her mother or her father's liking, but both she and Matthew had wanted to be together, and as a family quickly to help Mischa over what was going to be a traumatic separation from her aunt. It also stopped the trauma she had gone through finding her fiancé and her sister making love. Though now lying in bed with Matthew after they had made love, they giggled over the whole thing.

"So you sent me to Grant's room to tell him the truth huh? What if I had just waited it out there, and he had come back in..what then?"

"I helped it along."

"What do you mean, you helped?"

"As fastidious as Kacie is, do you think she left her bracelet behind on her own?"

"You are a devil!" but with the words, came her kisses. She had never been able to take the truth in the doses that Matthew prescribed, but from him it was a medicine she thrived on. When she was being bossy, he called her on it, not like Grant who had just knuckled under to save arguing. Matthew loved to argue with her, finding how much fun it was to calm her with his lovemaking!

"Jessica, I did not have time for you to reconcile your guilty conscience with your sisters, that was a necessary bit of manipulation! Nothing your own father or your mother for that matter would not have done in my place!"

EJ had been totally disapproving of the marriage, but seeing how happy his daughter was won him over. Now he just had to come to the same conclusion about Grant and Kacie. His other problem was also needing to be solved.

"EJ, with Justin coming home, I think it might be time don't you, maybe before the wedding? What if Justin should come out of it..you know he will want to see her. Do it now, bring her back, I know she loves him, otherwise she did not have to carry the baby to term, she could have gotten an abortion you know."

"We do not even know that she plans on keeping it, I mean she is still working in that filthy garage."

"Could it be she needs the money she is earning? Babies are not cheap you know, you know it is time EJ, swallow your pride, go to her, admit you were wrong to judge your sons choices..ask for her help with Justin, it may be what brings him back to us..back to her and his child as well.."

Phaedra walked the small hill with a bit more difficulty now to the cemetery across from the old church on Sunday morning. The heather grew among the mortar of the old stone mason fence that clanged in the cold wind of the barren field area encircling the graveyard. Making her way to the weathered grave stone of her father and mother, she knelt a moment, said her brief prayer, then placed her floral offering within the urn before heading across to the church. She did not notice the tall man standing across the street by the church gates, but he stared at her, finding her gestures for her parents to be something he could relate to and respect. He quickly stepped into the group of worshippers heading into the door of the old Methodist Church. Phaedra followed in, once more among the familiar. This was the church she had attended with her family as a child, and now that she was back, the welcome she had gotten had made her glad she had decided to live once more among the simple people of the village. No one had judged her, no one had moralized, they had just said welcome home, you are one of us.

The opening hymnal was her favorite, her voice was a rather quivering alto, but as the words began, she heard a strong bass voice beside of her, which was making it easy for her to keep pace with the song.

"I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above...

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no questions, the love that stands the test

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best..

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice...

She looked up then, and saw who was guiding her in the song, seeing EJ Wells, smiling down on her kindly, then looking to her very rounded stomach before putting his arm in hers, and leading her to the outside of the church where the car with Matthew at the wheel was waiting. She was too stunned to protest, and when EJ said the three words, "he needs you" that was all it took.

**Chapter XXXVIII**

Father Jansen had handled all the details for the annulment of Eva's prior marriage, and EJ had seen to it that nothing hindered it. Power was not something to be ill used he felt, but using it was always a prerogative. The little church in the small Bolivian town needed a new roof, and the school was in need of new text books. It was a small price to pay for his sons happiness with the woman he loved. As for the man she had been married to, EJ decided he could go on living, from all EJ could gather, it had been a case of a rather poorly arranged marriage with Eva getting the very short end of a stick designed to give her parents inexpensive rental of the farm where they raised dairy cows.

Carlos had received the annulment papers in silence, and when her father told him she was marrying in America to the son of a famous and wealthy man, he had remained silent. It was only when he was told they would be returning to live in Bolivia to run the company known as Wellearth that he had shown any interest. It seemed the young American, Ace Wells was bent on saving the rain forest, and his future wife was going to be working side by side with him in this project. Carlos was happy to hear it, as he now thought revenge was one of those dishes best served up cold.

"Is the cake ordered? What about the DJ, do we have a good one? Is Harris singing? The Pub menu, will it work for this, or should we self cater? Do we have enough champagne ordered? Is the chocolate fountain going to have fresh strawberries, have they been flown in?" each questioned answered brought another one from Sami as she filled in all the details of what was going to be the wedding of the year in Salem. Jessica had cheated her, but thank God Ace and Eva wanted to do it right!

Looking at her cell phone clock told her that she would have to get the driver to take her round to the airport in a half hour! She spent a few minutes with the nurse who was with Justin now to inquire how he seemed to be doing. It was always the same, but she kept her hope alive, knowing that Phaedra was coming, and Kacie was trying each day to make contact with him. The next call she made was to her youngest, smiling as she heard the happiness in her voice when she picked it up to say merrily, "Hi Mom!"

"Hi yourself, are you all packed yet? The rehearsal dinner will be at seven thirty, so you cannot be late alright? Don't you two dare miss that plane! I am just heading out to pick up your dad, and our little surprise package as well!"

"Mom, I wish I could say I got through, but he seems to be almost blocking me out on purpose..I can feel his anger, and his sense of loss..but I think you are right, I think he needs to hear her voice, I am so happy Dad is doing this!"

"I spoke to him just before they got on board. She still tends to exasperate him, but then once upon a time so did I!"

Phaedra had exasperated EJ. While she had readily enough got into the car, when they pulled up in front of her cottage so that she could collect a few things he had insisted on going in with her. The doorway into what was a cottage that had been in her family for three hundred years was a little over five feet in height, so he had almost had to bend over in order to clear it. He had looked it over, admiring it for its neatness, and careful use of space, but she had taken his scrutiny as somehow being scornful.

"It has been a home to our family for generations, not quite up to your standards, but very comfortable for us." Opening a drawer, she found her passport, then went up into the attic pulldown ladder to retrieve a suitcase.

"Damnit!, Let me get that for you! What if you fell?"EJ grabbed it from her hands, then for good measure, reached around her waist to haul her down.

"Bloody hell! I go up and down that thing a good ten times a day, and I have yet to fall, but you yanking on me like that could cause a right good spill!"

Shaking his head, he then saw where she was headed with the case. Not to gather many of her clothes, and he could see from the rack where they seemed to all be hanging, there was not much to gather. Instead, she was packing up knitted items of pink from a little white bassinette in the corner.

"So 'tis a girl then?" he seemed pleased, which surprised her.

"Fraid so, Mr. Wells, there will not be a heir for your dynasty this go round."

"I love girls, and I will I promise be a most doting grandfather..now what are you about? We do have a bit of a schedule to keep!"

He watched as she pulled a set of keys from a cupboard, then an envelope, and a piece of ledger paper to which she was setting about putting numbers, adding them up, then catching her mistake, and correcting it for a total.

"I did the carburetor on Mr. Hensleys Bentley, and I need to put the keys where he can find 'em, and of course he will need his bill so he will know what he owes to me!" in the time spent in the village, all the colloquialisms and manners of speech had returned. She once again spoke as a proper Cornishwoman.

"Quite the business woman I see..tell me, do you still have the blueprints on the engine that I gave over to your father?"

"Yes, yes I do, as well as the patent..which is solely mine now..as you said, I am quite the businesswoman, so don't be thinking you can wangle it from me, that is still mine and the childs future and birthright!"

Once again, she had done something he could relate to and respect..she was protecting her future generations, just as he had always done.

**Chapter XXXIX**

Sami stood at the gate, watching as the Mythic Jet pulled up to its private skyway. She was unwilling to wait, and hurried down to be there when the door opened. EJ saw her, and made his way to pick her up into his arms, accept her 'welcome home kiss', then turn around to assist Phaedra up the slight incline with her slightly worse for wear piece of brown luggage. Matthew came out from the cockpit area, and gave his mother in law a peck on her cheek, then asked how much time they all had before the dinner.

"You all have some time to get home, and have a bit of rest. Phaedra, you look like you need it especially! Did you sleep at all on the plane sweetie?"

"No, she did not" EJ answered for her. Phaedra had spent her time reading up on Justin's condition, and all the doctors gloomy prognosis. One had read, "patient will likely go into atrophy of his muscular structure, due to the amount of time spent unmoving. Even the constant physical therapy involved will not stop the decay of the comatose patient". Phaedra had read that and began sobbing, remembering the strength of Justin when he had been racing, or rescuing her from Lorenzo, or just lying in his arms.

"Don't believe that drivel my dear, look at this picture of him, he is as strong as ever physically!" EJ passed over a photo of Justin in his bed, with the compact version of the Phoenix hooked up beside him. He looked as if he were sleeping, there were no signs of injury, and she could see the muscular build he had was still there.

"How can this be?"Phaedra was no stranger to track injuries, and she had read enough to know that Justin had suffered both spinal cord injuries and seizures. The reports that he was probably never going to come out of it had been world wide news.

Her unspoken accusation to EJ was noted, as he told her, "we needed to get him situated, his care in place, before we came for you. It was not that we did not want you with him, Phaedra, in fact we believe it is only you who can make him fight back..he has the ability to come back, he has to want to!"

They all arrived at the Wells house to find Tippin had prepared tea and light refreshments. Roman was wheeled down to meet Phaedra, and though a bit confused, he was having one of his good days, so he greeted her pleasantly enough. "Well, hello there, aren't you a pretty one! Sami! You should fix her up with Justin, she would be perfect for him! Where in the sam hill is my grilled cheese sandwich..didn't I say I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich an hour ago?"

Nanny patted his arm soothingly, "I was just taking you down to get it made up for you!"

Phaedra took Roman in stride, reaching over to take his hand and introduce herself properly, "I am Phaedra, so happy to meet you! I would love to meet Justin, he sounds like a wonderful person..where is he please?" she directed the question to Roman, but her eyes were on Sami and EJ. They both nodded towards the closed library doors, to which Phaedra moved with determined but slow steps. Would she be able to face what was behind them with the grit that would be needed?

The stillness of the room was sobering to her. In the corner, next to the large window, the bed where he lay was situated so that it would get the benefit of the morning sun, but now was in shadows. A white piece of equipment was next to him, and she was surprised at how compact it was. EJ had shown her pictures of the older models that had loomed over the patient. He had told her how he had once been saved by this very machine, but that it had been his family who had really made the difference.

Standing over him, she reached down to brush a lock of hair from his forehead, willing him to feel her touch and her presence, but he did nothing. Phaedra knew she was not close enough, so she sat on the bed, kicking off her shoes, then tucking her feet under her knees as she rubbed his cheeks, stroking his neck, and lightly kissing his hands. Still not close enough, she stretched out lengthwise upon the bed, facing him, the swell of her stomach pressing it self against him, looking into his face, again trying to reach him with her thoughts

. "I love you Justin, I should have stayed, if I had stayed there, you would be here with me, with your daughter..it was a cowardly thing I did, running, but I am here now, I am here now!" Pressing herself against him, she tried to make contact with him with every inch of her body, instinctively knowing he needed her to do this. Her leg went in between one of his, the other on top of his other leg, she rubbed him with her feet, warming herself as she did. When sleep came upon her, it was hard to tell where his body left off and hers began, then when the child growing inside her began to do her nightly tumbles, the rolling stomach muscles also pushed out at Justin.

The plane bringing Kacie and Grant into Salem was beginning its descent, the seatbelt light was on, and the only sounds were the passengers rebuckling, or shuffling about gathering their seat items.

As she was clicking her buckle, the image flashed on as clear as the fasten seat belt sign blinking above her head!

"Justin is back! He is back with us!" Her arms flew to hug Grant with her joy, and once again, he puzzled at the connections his wife to be had with her other sight, but he hugged her back, sharing her joy!

**Chapter XL**

The calibrations for the Phoenix had been set, the brain activity had shown that Justin was capable of coming out of it when he willed it. Until the moment he sensed her presence, it had just been easier to remain in the void. Now he opened his eyes, and saw her curled up against him. The sooty darkness of her lashes created spiky shadows on her cheeks which fascinated him. He watched as she breathed, seeing how those shadows would lengthen then shorten, with the movement of her head. Pulling back a bit to look at the rest of her only made her frown in her sleep, and insist on moving closer to him. He used one hand to brush a bit of hair from her face to enable him to see her even better, and that was when he saw how her stomach had rounded. He placed his hand upon it, which made the sleeping infant stir a bit, waking her sleeping mother.

"Hey, can I have a bit of the bed back, I am about to fall off here, this hospital did not provide me with a king bed you know," he whispered this to her, tracing the whorl of her ear with a fingertip as he did so.

"Justin! You are awake!" her surprise was mirrored by his as he took in his surroundings, then heard the whir of the systems he was still hooked up to. Morning light was breaking in, and as it did, the doors opened, bringing in the medical technicians, a doctor, as well as the whole Wells family!

Kacie had let everyone at the rehearsal dinner know that Justin was coming up, but it was decided that they would let him come out with Phaedra at his side. She had been so exhausted, Sami had insisted that she not be disturbed, and looking at the way Phaedra had snuggled up with her son reminded her of that time so long ago when EJ had been in a bed like that, and how much he had wanted her with him. Now, though, as a mother she could not stop herself, she had to see him, and talk with him and touch him. It had been so long! Kacie and Jessica then fought to get next to him as well, and Phaedra had drawn back, finding herself marginalized for a moment, until she felt the hand of EJ on her shoulder.

"You belong in there, more than they do, go be with him, look, he is looking for you..they will understand!"his gentle push gave her the authority she needed, and she nudged Kacie aside in order to sit next to Justin, as he snaked his arm about her abdomen.

The day for the wedding of Ace and Eva dawned warm and sunny. No clouds were going to hinder this wedding, Sami simply would not allow it. Things were going to be perfect for this wedding. Eva was beautiful, her gown was a Trey creation, her hair had been done by the best hairdresser in Salem, Chez Rouge was going all out for the reception, filet mignon and lobster was to be the menu! They had each written their own vows and now, best of all, Justin was going to be best man, Matthew was another groomsman while Jessica served as as the matron of honor, and Kacie as the maid of honor. The color scheme was a pale lavender, with accents of darker violet. It complimented the complexion of the bride, and as Sami had already figured out, was not too shabby on her either!

Mischa was taking her duties as flower girl seriously, strewing the petals as evenly as she could up the aisle each time she practiced. Phaedra had worked with her on it tirelessly, showing her how to make sure the basket full of petals she had would last the entire trip up the aisle. Her white eyelet lace dress was underlaid with a dark violet slip, the little hat that she wore, adorned with purple forget me nots.

EJ watched all these little traditions play out, while looking over at Kacie. Her wedding was going to be in a few months, and this time he would not miss out on anything the way he had with Jessica. He would walk her down the aisle as Eva's father was going to be doing, the father-daughter dance would be his to dance with her, nothing would prevent things from being done the right way!

Phaedra and Justin were in no hurry now to marry, a fact that irritated both Samantha and him, but as Phaedra said, she also wanted a nice wedding, and that included fitting into a wedding gown which did not resemble a tent. Now Samantha was involved with the wedding planner for a date six months off, just three months after Kacie. EJ had turned into a traditionalist, but looking at Phaedra with Mischa, he was pleased with his sons choice.

Taking her place next to Samantha in the pew, he admired the way she carried herself, and the tasteful ensemble she had chosen to wear even though Trey had been inclined to 'vamp' her up a bit as it were. Her cream colored empire dress with the lavender breast bow highlighted her dark coloring without drawing attention away from the bride.

Samantha had chosen a deep purple long skirted suit ensemble, and her blonde coloring made her stand out within the crowd. The bridesmaids were attired in like dresses of a dark violet, with lighter lavender accessories. Everything in the wedding was set to bring out the strawberry blonde red hair of the bride, and her creamy but slightly freckled coloring. When her mother and father had seen her for the first time in her finery they had both gushed in the German language that was their primary tongue, Eva's tears had fallen as she finally felt how much they loved and wished her all happiness. It had been a long time since the practical family had shown her any of that, so she had forgiven them for the marriage she had to endure to Carlos.

"I know he vas not gutt man to ju Eva, but da land for the dairy..yu faddah need it so much..but vas not wort it, not for vat ju had to suffer!" with that apology, Eva had hugged her mother, assuring her it was alright and she was so happy now, what did it matter?

Soon Ace and her would be living in Bolivia, working on the new project together, this was the happiest she had ever been in her life, that was all that counted now, right?

**Chapter XLI**

"Wakey, wakey, you have got to read this one darling!" EJ was standing over the bed waving the latest copies of Soap Opera Digest, Soap Opera Weekly, as well as other trade dailies. "You, my lady are now number one! The ratings are in and they are screaming how wonderful the show is now that you have cleaned house so to speak!"

Sami reached for her reading glasses as she sat up, taking first a sip of the tea EJ had brought in for her before snatching the papers and magazine from him.

"Wow! I mean the reviews have been getting so much better since that Sharol Cringsley got replaced, but I never expected this! Listen EJ!

"The combination of making the sisters loving but sometimes scheming against each other conspirators in Melas Corners has turned this show into a delightful blend of drama, comedy, and some of the hottest sex scenes ever filmed! When Justine found her fiancés personalized cuff links on the bureau in Jenna's room, and he hid under the bed naked as Justine tore the room apart looking for him, we were torn between laughing our sides sore, or praying she overlooked him! Greatest daytime scene this year bar none!"

The ratings were now a solid 3.9, second place still, but great demographically, capturing both the younger set, and the older women who had been faithful to the show for so many years!

"You will have a lot to celebrate at the Anniversary Party tonight, and you deserve it all darling, you have worked so hard on this!" EJ crawled in bed beside of her to read alongside her. She put them down to look into his eyes, taking off her glasses as she did.

"What I have to celebrate is our life together, EJ. But I celebrate that every day of my life, and all the days of my life. You know that don't you? I have known so much happiness with you, my life really began that day you opened that door wearing nothing but a towel and that smile that still beguiles me to this day! You were so beautiful then, you still are, a little greyer, but do you know you take my breath away still?"her hand reached over to stroke his cheek as she had done so many times through the years, a touch that it still had the power to quicken his breath, and make his heart beat faster as he pulled her to him in the tenderest of kisses. His lovemaking with her was slow, unhurried, a passion that glowed with the subtle nuances of knowing everything about her, but still finding surprises like the way she would gasp when he did something as simple as kiss her eyelids.

"I love you Samantha, I always have, I always will..anam cara, my soul, my love, my being!" it was his words to her that always brought her to the release of her own soul to join with his..words that had the power to show his love with so much more feeling than the touch of his hand or body.

The honeymoon suite at Green Mountain Lodge had been reserved for the week for Ace and Eva, and she was astounded at how beautifully Jessica had arranged for everything to be. Even more astounding was how wonderful her wedding night had been. It had been difficult, but Ace and her had not had sex before their marriage, and it was more due to her fears than any moral parameter. Her marriage to Carlos had not been one in which she took any joy in the experience, but when Ace had carried her into the bed chamber of the suite, things had been so different.

"I want you to know, Eva, this is my first time at this, so if I am not too good..I am sorry..."Ace was confessing his virginity, and Eva cried at his words.

"Oh God, Ace, I wish..I wish.." she wanted to finish and say she would have wanted it to be her first time as well, only he stopped her with his kiss.

"Do you..do you.."he nervously inclined his head towards the bathroom, silently asking her if she needed to change into her night clothes. Taking up her valise, she disappeared into the room, closing the door and leaning back on with a sense of both anticipation and fear. The gown in her bag was a pale blue, empire styled with a slit from the ankle to the hip on each side. It came low on her breasts, and though she was not buxom by any means, the sweetly rounded tops found favor with the cut of the lingerie. Unpinning her hair, she then lightly spritzed herself with scent of gardenia before opening the door to find him staring at her in wonderment.

"I have never seen anything as beautiful as you Eva, I never will..." at his words she walked into his arms, his kisses, his caresses. Picking her up, he carried her to the bed, lying her down with such care, as if she would break if he handled her carelessly. As he kissed her, she stroked the bare muscles on his back, but as his hands began to seek the hidden hollows and crevices, her strokes were followed by her deepening fingernails, then her hands began to do their own seeking. This was actually something she had never done with a man, and finding out what pleased him was a new and exciting game for her as well. Soon, they had discovered that this was something to be delighted in, and they laughed with each other at each new discovery. Finally the need within each other was to great to ignore, and he rolled over to be on top of her, tugging away at her gown until she lay naked to his eyes beneath him. He took a minute to drink in the sight, before he settled himself between her legs and thrust softly forward, sinking into her softness, reveling in her moans of desire.

"You are my love, my only love Ace, I have never been alive until now, you have given me my life, give me a child now please!"she rose up to meet each movement of his, and smiled as she saw the surprise in his eyes as he became one with her as the passion ascended to fill them both with the bolt of lightening that seared their souls into one being!

It was going to be the night of the Wells anniversary party, and as soon as it was over, Kacie and Grant would be heading back to Berkeley. Grant was finalizing the purchase of the small restaurant in the college area, but before they did that, they had promised Ace and Eva they would go with them back to Bolivia for a month to help organize the office for their new venture. Kacie had taken a sabbatical, thinking she would try and spend some time learning about some of the Indian village cultures in Bolivia as well. Some of them had developed great powers of the mind, even though some of it did involve mind expanding drugs, she wanted to investigate. After that, another wedding, theirs, then Justin and Phaedra..her mother was going to have a very full calendar!

**Chapter XLII**

The silver lame dress Samantha had chosen complimented the silver platinum of her hair as she held it up so EJ could zip her in. Then she turned to him to straighten his bow tie a bit, admiring him the splendor of his tux. The party had grown so much in scope, it had to be transferred to another venue, and was to be held at the Grande Ballroom of the Salem Inn. Over one thousand guests were expected, many from the show, some from the publishing world, some from EJ's varied business interests, and of course what remained of the family.

Roman sat with John, talking over old times. Isabella and Hope found common ground in their grandchildren, while Bo and Phillip carried on their uneasy truce. Not much of the old family ties remained, Belle was working in a hospital in Israel, Shawn had decided to go work in the fishing industry in Alaska, but the Wells family still provided a steady source of income and gossip for the town.

Justin walked in with Phaedra, she was just two months from delivering, and was almost Madonna like in her tranquility. No one realized she had spent the better part of the afternoon underneath a car chassis rebuilding a Nascar frame. Justin had walked in to hear her cursing at a bolt that refused to dislodge, so had climbed on a slide guerney and joined her to help her out. "Thanks, it was really stuck!" she gave him a kiss of thanks, then went back to her hobby.

"hey, it is time to get ready..come on.." she looked at the time on her cell, and nodded yes, she was coming..Then when she had pulled herself out, he once again heard her cursing as her stomach refused to pass out the narrowness of the floor versus the car!

He had chuckled, then went back under to help her turn on her side, then they were able to slide her out.

"You are gonna have to do some serious sit ups and crunches after this my lady!"but to soften his teasing, he had picked her up, and carried her all the way into the house. "I want to make sure you are not waylaid by a wrench along the way!"

An hour later, she came down the stairs, resplendent in her gown of pale peach , showing the olive tone of her skin, and the darkness of her eyes and lashes off to perfection! EJ gave her his arm, leading her over to Justin, who was waiting to pin an orchid on her dress. The others would be meeting them at the Ball Room, it was going to be a gala like Salem seldom witnessed. On the way there, EJ and Sami had smiled their approval at the way Justin and Phaedra huddled in the corner of the car, whispering and giggling at their own secrets. Justin kept his hand protectively on the swollen stomach of his fiancé, loving it when he could feel the movements of the baby girl nestled in the womb of this woman he loved so well.

Jessica had arranged for the music to be played the moment her parents entered the room, a favorite song of theirs, and one she remembered her father would hum to her mother as he would pull her into his arms and dance around the dining room.

"Someday, when I'm awfully low, When the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you..

And the way you look tonight"

Upon hearing the first lyrics and music, EJ had swung Sami out onto the dance floor in a perfectly patterned fox trot.

"Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm, And your cheeks so soft,

There is nothing for me but to love you, and the way you look tonight.."

The song and the dance melded together as they lost the world in each others eyes. Twenty five years of loving and protecting each other were being celebrated on this night. It was a milestone they both deserved, and as his hand stroked her cheek, both Sami and EJ knew it had been worth every struggle in their lives together.

As the song ended, and the applause began, they had bowed to each other, then to their audience before ending it all with a kiss.

Kacie and Grant were on the dance floor together, with eyes only for each other. The wedding date was fast approaching, and they looked forward to the chance to build the same kind of happiness shared by her mother and father. His parents had divorced when he was young, and both were now dead, but he looked at what the possibilities were and he could only marvel that he was going to have the same chance for a life such as had been lived by Kacie's parents.

Mischa stood by the punch bowl watching as her mom and dad danced by, if she reached up just so, she knew she could get a cup of the punch she was not allowed to have!

"Do you see what that little minx is up to?" Jessica had caught the movement out of the corner of her eye.

"The champagne punch?" Matthew asked, as he steered Jessica towards the bowl.

"Mischa, this is not what you are allowed to drink!"her father took the cup from her hands and poured it out in the trash bin, then got her a cup of the non potent variety.

"I have to keep hydrated!" came her pouty reply. Ace then came to the rescue, taking his niece out for a spin on the floor, letting her dance upon his shoes as Matthew had once done for Jessica.

Eva looked on approvingly, then whispered to Jessica, "he is going to be a wonderful father! Your brother is definitely a daddy in waiting!"

"ohhh sounds interesting, do you have something to tell us?" Jessica probed, but Eva only smiled..she hoped it had happened, but it was too early to know anything.

Nothing about the night was less than perfection, the guests from Hollywood were as impressed as the Salemites, it was a night of magic all the way around. The work she had put into it was not unnoticed by her father as he made his way over to thank her before leaving for the night.

"Jess, it was so wonderful..listen, would you consider a position at Mythic as events coordinator?" EJ was determined to get his daughter out of the skies, but she shook her head no.

"I fly Dad, it is what I do..now if you want to offer me the position as a pilot for Mythic, one that would give me lots of time at home for Mischa, I am ready to consider that now!"

Knowing she was not going to give in, he tried another tack.."ok, but if I don't have a lot of flights going out, can you do double duty as an events coordinator?"

"Dad, don't you and mom have some private celebrating to do? Let me think on it, you both just get home safely!"

They rode home in the limo by themselves, as Justin had arranged for Phaedra and him to have a night to themselves at the Salem Inn. It was a passionate ride home for EJ and his beautiful Samantha.

"Life began for me, my darling, at your first smile..and when it ends for me, I will still look for your smile.."

"EJ, I love it when you talk dirty to me" she giggled.

**Chapter XLII**

The silver lame dress Samantha had chosen complimented the silver platinum of her hair as she held it up so EJ could zip her in. Then she turned to him to straighten his bow tie a bit, admiring him the splendor of his tux. The party had grown so much in scope, it had to be transferred to another venue, and was to be held at the Grande Ballroom of the Salem Inn. Over one thousand guests were expected, many from the show, some from the publishing world, some from EJ's varied business interests, and of course what remained of the family.

Roman sat with John, talking over old times. Isabella and Hope found common ground in their grandchildren, while Bo and Phillip carried on their uneasy truce. Not much of the old family ties remained, Belle was working in a hospital in Israel, Shawn had decided to go work in the fishing industry in Alaska, but the Wells family still provided a steady source of income and gossip for the town.

Justin walked in with Phaedra, she was just two months from delivering, and was almost Madonna like in her tranquility. No one realized she had spent the better part of the afternoon underneath a car chassis rebuilding a Nascar frame. Justin had walked in to hear her cursing at a bolt that refused to dislodge, so had climbed on a slide guerney and joined her to help her out. "Thanks, it was really stuck!" she gave him a kiss of thanks, then went back to her hobby.

"hey, it is time to get ready..come on.." she looked at the time on her cell, and nodded yes, she was coming..Then when she had pulled herself out, he once again heard her cursing as her stomach refused to pass out the narrowness of the floor versus the car!

He had chuckled, then went back under to help her turn on her side, then they were able to slide her out.

"You are gonna have to do some serious sit ups and crunches after this my lady!"but to soften his teasing, he had picked her up, and carried her all the way into the house. "I want to make sure you are not waylaid by a wrench along the way!"

An hour later, she came down the stairs, resplendent in her gown of pale peach , showing the olive tone of her skin, and the darkness of her eyes and lashes off to perfection! EJ gave her his arm, leading her over to Justin, who was waiting to pin an orchid on her dress. The others would be meeting them at the Ball Room, it was going to be a gala like Salem seldom witnessed. On the way there, EJ and Sami had smiled their approval at the way Justin and Phaedra huddled in the corner of the car, whispering and giggling at their own secrets. Justin kept his hand protectively on the swollen stomach of his fiancé, loving it when he could feel the movements of the baby girl nestled in the womb of this woman he loved so well.

Jessica had arranged for the music to be played the moment her parents entered the room, a favorite song of theirs, and one she remembered her father would hum to her mother as he would pull her into his arms and dance around the dining room.

"Someday, when I'm awfully low, When the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you..

And the way you look tonight"

Upon hearing the first lyrics and music, EJ had swung Sami out onto the dance floor in a perfectly patterned fox trot.

"Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm, And your cheeks so soft,

There is nothing for me but to love you, and the way you look tonight.."

The song and the dance melded together as they lost the world in each others eyes. Twenty five years of loving and protecting each other were being celebrated on this night. It was a milestone they both deserved, and as his hand stroked her cheek, both Sami and EJ knew it had been worth every struggle in their lives together.

As the song ended, and the applause began, they had bowed to each other, then to their audience before ending it all with a kiss.

Kacie and Grant were on the dance floor together, with eyes only for each other. The wedding date was fast approaching, and they looked forward to the chance to build the same kind of happiness shared by her mother and father. His parents had divorced when he was young, and both were now dead, but he looked at what the possibilities were and he could only marvel that he was going to have the same chance for a life such as had been lived by Kacie's parents.

Mischa stood by the punch bowl watching as her mom and dad danced by, if she reached up just so, she knew she could get a cup of the punch she was not allowed to have!

"Do you see what that little minx is up to?" Jessica had caught the movement out of the corner of her eye.

"The champagne punch?" Matthew asked, as he steered Jessica towards the bowl.

"Mischa, this is not what you are allowed to drink!"her father took the cup from her hands and poured it out in the trash bin, then got her a cup of the non potent variety.

"I have to keep hydrated!" came her pouty reply. Ace then came to the rescue, taking his niece out for a spin on the floor, letting her dance upon his shoes as Matthew had once done for Jessica.

Eva looked on approvingly, then whispered to Jessica, "he is going to be a wonderful father! Your brother is definitely a daddy in waiting!"

"ohhh sounds interesting, do you have something to tell us?" Jessica probed, but Eva only smiled..she hoped it had happened, but it was too early to know anything.

Nothing about the night was less than perfection, the guests from Hollywood were as impressed as the Salemites, it was a night of magic all the way around. The work she had put into it was not unnoticed by her father as he made his way over to thank her before leaving for the night.

"Jess, it was so wonderful..listen, would you consider a position at Mythic as events coordinator?" EJ was determined to get his daughter out of the skies, but she shook her head no.

"I fly Dad, it is what I do..now if you want to offer me the position as a pilot for Mythic, one that would give me lots of time at home for Mischa, I am ready to consider that now!"

Knowing she was not going to give in, he tried another tack.."ok, but if I don't have a lot of flights going out, can you do double duty as an events coordinator?"

"Dad, don't you and mom have some private celebrating to do? Let me think on it, you both just get home safely!"

They rode home in the limo by themselves, as Justin had arranged for Phaedra and him to have a night to themselves at the Salem Inn. It was a passionate ride home for EJ and his beautiful Samantha.

"Life began for me, my darling, at your first smile..and when it ends for me, I will still look for your smile.."

"EJ, I love it when you talk dirty to me" she giggled.

**Chapter XLIII**

"EJ! Come look at this wedding video of Eva and Ace, it is so beautiful!" the videographer had turned the wedding into a fairy tale, and Sami was definitely going to be using him at the wedding of Kacie and Grant! She had express mailed a copy to Ace and Eva in Bolivia, and pictured them sharing it with Kacie and Grant very soon. They were all meeting in Brazilia, then going into the interior to study the operation of Wellearth, the fledging company that Ace hoped would soon become a model of how to increase the acreage of rainforest by both conservation and reforestation models he was working on.

Grant leaned over to look out the planes window, taking in the lush greenery that surrounded the city, a city not sullied by the haze of smog most of the worlds airports were shrouded in on most days. Brazil was a country entirely independent of foreign oil, and also heavily into non fossil fuels. The use of switch blade grass as a fuel source had saved a great deal of the environment and the air in the development of the economy.

He had been reading the prospectus given to him by Ace, and though Grant was cautious, he was thinking he would invest some of his savings in the new project. Kacie also was enthusiastic about her brothers venture, something just told her this was a project that was worthwhile, so she trusted her instincts..a fact that Grant found amusing.

"Kacie, I mean can't you just use your little "gift" and pick all the stock winners you want?"

"It does not work that way, Grant, I mean my brother Justin always said I should just pick the winning lotto ticket each week, and I did try.."she shook her head and smiled at that memory,"but I never came up with any more winning numbers than he did!"

"Well, time to land, seatbelt on lady, and put your seat and tray in the upright position!" the old training of Grant always asserted itself when they flew together. To her credit, she did not give him any grief, just quietly did as she was told, then held onto his hand tightly, for the crash of her sisters plane and her vision of it had made her into a proverbial white knuckle flyer.

The landing was perfect and Kacie gave her little sigh of relief, which Grant heard and understood. He never let go of her hand until the plane had stopped completely, knowing she had her own demons as far as flying went. Jessica on the other hand, never had a moments doubt about getting back onto a plane, either as pilot or passenger. Eva and Ace waited at the end of the sky way, Eva jumping up and down in her excitement to tell her news!

To Kacie it was obvious, just looking at how her sister in law seemed to glow with inner beauty was enough to give it away! "You are pregnant?"

Ace grinned, and Grant shook his hand in congratulations. "Have you let Mom and Dad know yet?"

"Of course we did, the moment that stick went blue!" Ace had made the call, waking up his mother, but her squeal of delight had made him glad he had decided the four hour time difference was not that big a deal! "She was going to call Jessica when she hung up, and I imagine she woke up Justin and Phaedra as well. You know Mom!" Ace was puffed up like the proverbial rooster in his pride and love.

The four of them made their way into town to eat at a very nice restaurant, to which Ace commented, "I hope you like this meal, as it is a long ride tomorrow to Eva's parents house, and the food there while good, is nothing like this! After that another day into the interior to the lab set up. Did you both take the anti malarial meds on the right timetable?" he impressed upon them that the mosquitos were the size of hummingbirds where they were going to be staying, and those medicines could keep them from getting very sick very quickly.

Ace had not been kidding, it was an interminable ride in a climate of heavy humidity which Kacie was not used to at all, being a resident of California's Northern Bay Area. The heat bothered her, but along with it she felt a vague foreboding which she attributed to the bout of car sickness she was experiencing. After six hours in the car, Ace made the turn onto the bumpy road lined on either side by wire fencing where a large dairy herd grazed on some very lush pasture.

"This is the road, we only have about six miles to go up, and you will see the house and barns." Eva looked with sympathy at her sister in law, whose face was turning ashen again, which meant she needed to stop soon.

"Good..I think I will make it now.."Kacie bravely offered. Only it was not physical illness making her face turn pale, she did not know what was happening, but if she had been able to put a name to the awful dread she was feeling, it would have been evil...something evil was gripping the very air she was breathing..and still she could not see anything. Her hand reached over in the seat to grip Grants, making him look at her the same way he did when they were landing in a plane.

"What is it babe, what is wrong?" but his question was only answered by a shake of her head, and her reassurance.

"Nothing, just the heat you know, I really need to get out of this car into a nice shower or bath.."she was feeling foolish that her fears were infecting Grant as well..this was so silly, there was nothing wrong.

Eva smiled at her, "of course, I know just how you feel..Mama and Papa are waiting to show you their hospitality, and a nice soak in a tub will be just what Mama orders for both of us!

**Chapter XVIV**

Knowing this was the day he would settle all old scores was immensely satisfying to Carlos. He had gotten out of bed late, uncaring how his brothers remarked that he was really good for nothing now, a man whose wife had run off, annulled their marriage as if it were nothing, and was even now working with her new husband in an area not even thirty miles away. Even the local parish priest had sided with her. Carlos was truly good for nothing, lazy, and dumb to boot. How he had ever been sired by their father was beyond belief. Outsmarted by a woman..she even had driven his pickup on her get away!

All of this derision had rankled Carlos, but he had withstood it, and by not losing his temper, he had even managed to stay on friendly terms with Gus and Margarete, his whore of a wifes bitch mother and piece of dog shit father. This was how he knew the day he would get his revenge on both the priest, and Eva.

The Father had acted surprised but glad to see him. "Do you wish to make confession Carlos, I think it will put your soul at peace."

"Of course Father, I do think I need that, I have not been at peace since you granted the annulment to my whoring wife, and this will definitely bring me peace. With the words had come the knife into the priests side, wounding the liver with a fatal stab, and the priest had collapsed against him in his dying moments of agony.

"Be glad I am merciful Father, it will be quick! Now do you have anything to confess before you meet God?"

He had watched the light of life fade in the old padres eyes, smiling with evil intent the whole time. For his sake, the father knew he was looking into the eyes of a man whose soul has turned inside out, with the good totally buried in the bad. Carlos had put the body in the back of his truck, dumping it into the river as he crossed the bridge. He knew the piranhas would probably get rid of most of it, with other wild animals along the river getting their share as well. It was good..the cycle of life and all that..he laughed maniacally to himself afterwards!

The old man and woman had been easy, when the workers had all left for the day, after the last milking, he had simply snuck into the perimeter of the property, and took his place on the barn overlooking the house. He had shot her as she took a load of laundry in off the line, and when the old man had come running to see what had happened to her, not understanding why the sheets on the line were blood spattered, and his wife lay motionless on the ground. The bullet that killed him came as he knelt, still uncomprehending what had happened.

Dragging them unto the porch of the house had been tiring, but once he had set them up at their outdoor table, even placing supper dishes and coffee cups in front of them, he had laughed at the tableau he created. They were tied in place to the chairs, and except for the unfortunate tilt of their heads from the distance of the drive, they seemed to be enjoying an outdoor supper away from what might have been the oppressive heat of the house. He knew by the time his bitch of an ex wife and the outsider got to the porch and saw that her parents were dead, it would be too late for them as well. It would take him only a few minutes then to burn the house with all the bodies inside after which he would be on his way to his own house, over the hill on foot, never to be suspected. Even if he were suspected, his family was the wealthiest in the area, with all the local law enforcement either related or married with his kin in some way. He would have his revenge, and he would silence the laughter that had been coming his way from his so called loved ones.

Ace pulled the jeep around to the back of the house on the drive. Eva had waved cheerily to her parents sitting as they often did on the porch to enjoy the quiet of the late afternoon and early evening together. When they did not return her greeting she had looked puzzled, but by then Ace had parked, and they were all getting out of the vehicle with various pieces of luggage to occupy them. Kacie was the last out of the vehicle, and she hesitated even then. Something was wrong, but she could not identify it as yet. It gave way again to a bile rising in her throat, which she no longer could fight, giving in to the nausea and the dry heaves of someone who has no more stomach contents to expel. So hard was the retching, her sides and ribs ached with the exertion, while Grant looked on helplessly.

Eva gave him a pitcher from the car and told him to go around the side of the house to the pump, there he could get her some fresh water that would be cold and refreshing..as he walked over to where she had directed him Kacie had stood up suddenly, her mouth open in a call of distress that she could not give a voice too..she was terrified, horrified and absolutely dumbstruck at the same time.

Carlos opened the refrigerator door, taking out a pitcher of milk. He was thirsty as well as a bit hungry from all the exertions. He stopped to lean his shotgun against the counter, but was careless and it dropped to the floor. The explosion of the shot missed him by inches, but was heard by Ace as he closed the jeeps doors. He had run through the house then, as he did, searching out the gun kept by Gus, Eva's father, finding it in its usual spot on the mantle.

Cursing himself for his stupidity, Carlos retrieved the weapon and ran for the back door, hoping he would have time to reload, as he only one more shell loaded now, as he fumbled in his belt for three more. He made it to the outside, and when he had come face to face with the man, he had aimed as well as he could, and the sound of the gun with the recoil satisfied him as he saw how the blast made the mans body fly, bits of him filling the air, yes, indeed revenge was sweet. Soon she would join him, and it would be as it should be with him again.

It was then that Kacie saw the vision that had fought for her attention as hard as she had fought to keep it down, not wanting to see it, as it held too much pain for her to bear. "No Ace!!! No!"

**Chapter XLV**

"**sorry..get the hankies out..i mean I am crying as I type...**

Sami looked out the window and saw the drops of rain clinging to it. Her head hung down, and the tear she had been trying to wipe away slid down her cheek anyway. EJ came up behind her, rubbing her shoulders, knowing both of them would have to go in to try and be strong so the others would be strong as well.

"Is the church ready?" Samantha asked him, still not turning to face him, she needed a moment to face up to what was happening today. This was to have been the day Kacie married Grant in Saint Lukes, the day EJ would have walked her down the aisle as she smiled to the people gathered there to watch her father give her away. Instead, it was to be the day she would bury her fiancé.

"Yes, Samantha, all is ready.."EJ took out his handerkerchief to wipe a bit of the tear track from her face.

"Have you been in to see Kacie this morning? I was with her last night, but EJ, she has not cried..I have never seen her so quiet and still..it frightens me EJ, it is so unlike her". The tomboy child who had become the most sensitive of women, seemed to have retreated deep within herself, and her mother was unable to reach her to give any comfort at all.

"I was with her a bit yes, then Justin came in. You know she always confided first in him..I think he will give her that shoulder she really needs."at least EJ hoped so, for her stillness also worried him. He looked up on the wall where Samantha had hung several shots of the kids growing up, seeing the one where she had lopped off her pigtails in defiance of those hated bows. Kacie still kept her hair in a short cut, and when he had pulled her to him in a hug of shared sadness, rubbing his hands over the short wedge cut she now preferred, he remembered those pigtails and wished with all his heart they could go back to those days, when she was his little girl, when he had been her protector and savior from all things evil..he had not protected her this time. He remembered he was the one who decided that Eva's prior husband should live, even though both Matthew and Harris had misgivings. The story of that day had been written when he had shown mercy.

Ace had run out the door, seeing Grant lying in the dirt, with the retreating figure running into the wooded area at the back of the house. Eva had come up onto the porch and seeing her parents with those horrible red stains on their clothes the still, bluish look of death staring out at her, her screams had joined those of Kacie. Knowing who had probably done this made Eva run to Ace, holding him back from following.

"His family will kill you Ace! If he does not kill you, they will kill you if you harm him..! The baby! Please Ace! Stay here, I need you!" she was babbling in her terror that he would follow the crazy man she had married, into a trap laid by his just as crazy family.

For Kacie, there had not even been a moment of goodbye with Grant. She knelt, cradling his head in her lap, as his blood covered her clothing. His eyes were open, but not a spark of life shone in them, he had been gone the moment the bullet had gone into his body. Grant had always been the one man she could not read, but even without that ability, she knew he had loved her beyond most men's capabilites to love. He was her special mystery, she knew falling in love with him had been a total accident of fate, but it had been the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her or would ever happen again, she knew that, and it tortured her, as well as comforted her. She had seen the danger to Ace, that was when she had cried out, but the mystery of Grant had hidden any vision from her until it was too late.

The sound of the rain that morning was welcome to her. It would have been such a insult if the day she was to have wed her husband, but instead was going to take him to his final rest, had dawned sunny and bright. God would not have done such a slight to Grant, she was sure of it. One more day, she brought out the black suit she had also worn to the burial of Eva's parents. It was good they were together in death, lying under the tree with simple white crossed marking their grave. They were not separated as she and Grant were. They did not have to experience this pain. For that she was glad for them.

When the light knock on the door came, with Justin stepping into the room, she turned and tried to smile at him, but the movement froze on her face. It was too hard. His arms opened up for her, and she walked into them, burrowing her head into his shoulder. Like her father had just done, he rubbed the back of her neck, kissing the top of her head, physical gestures that had to take the place of words, for no words were going to be enough at this time. Later, when the service was over, he would make sure to spend the time with her she would need, but once again she read his thoughts.

"Don't even think of it Justin, you will need to be around for Phaedra, and my sabbatical is about over. I need my work, she and the baby are going to need you, so please, don't worry, I shall be fine. I promise alright? Please don't make this harder for me by not being there for the one who loves and needs you!"

"Don't worry, she understands..I can't let you go through this alone, it is breaking my heart just seeing you now, God this is all so wrong!"he clutched at her harder, trying to infuse her pain into him, somehow hoping it would lessen it in her. It did not, but Kacie was a soul who had enormous power, and she called upon it now to stiffen her spine.

"Justin, look, it is time to get to the church. We have to give him a proper goodbye, he deserves nothing less. Can you escort me down to the family, they need to see that I am able to do this..they don't need to suffer anymore about things that can't be changed either. Is Eva doing alright? The baby?"

"She is fine, the doctors said she is going to be just fine, and the baby is looking pretty normal for six weeks..but she is so worried about you!"

"Well then, we must go down and show them all that I am going to be strong enough to face this..but Justin..stay with me ok?" her pleading eyes finally gave him an admission that she would be leaning on him, as well as her mother and father.

"I would never be any other place sis.."

**Chapter XLVI**

"**sorry..but the grief I am feeling is still working itself out..get the hankie back out, as this is also how I am feeling due to the Santeen stuff as well!**

The coffin was draped in a spray of yellow daisies, the favorite flower of Kacie. Their engagement picture was on an easel beside the altar, that was the picture Kacie had wanted displayed, along with a collage of pictures they had taken during their courtship. She almost had felt a bit guilty about that, since a lot of the pictures taken were during the time they had been sneaking around trying to keep their relationship a secret from much of the family. There were pictures taken on their excursion to Alcatraz Island where they had taken turns peering out from the old rusted cell iron bars, shots of them on the Golden Gate Bridge, and walking along the beach. Each of the moments they had stolen were precious to her now, and she knew that Jess understood now.

Much of the service was traditional; she knew that Grant was that type of person. Probably the most daring thing he had ever done in his life was to fall in love with her. It defied convention, and try as they could to sweep it under they rug, both had lived with a bit of guilt because of how it had come about. Now all Kacie could do was wish she had been able to enjoy it more, and live in each moment they had, rather than worry about what was going to happen.

The ride to the cemetery was short, but Kacie wished it could have lasted forever, as she knew once this last ritual was over, it would be time to face the reality of it all. It would be final, nothing else to be done, and the long space of time that would stretch out in front of her would not be easily filled she knew. She saw her father sitting across from her, his face a still and grim mask. Even though she had been sheltered from the harsher aspects of his work and business, she was not ignorant. The whisperings between him and his men, Harris and Matthew had not gone unnoticed by her. Ace had given them the information Eva had told him, but it had been unnecessary. Men like her father knew everything, and when they made their decisions, things would happen.

She wanted to care, but could not. No matter what happened, Grant would not be back, so if a silly insane man was found sometime in a jungle area, strapped onto an ant hill, with some other portion of his body found stuffed into his mouth, she would not be upset, or if he was allowed to live, except with two or three of his limbs missing, it would be the same. Whatever her father decided upon, that would be his justice, not hers.

Her mother looked worried, she also knew what her husband was thinking, and she feared for his safety. It would be useless to try and dissuade him, she would not try either. The man who had done this deserved what ever fate EJ had in store, but she did not want him or her sons placed in danger again. EJ seemed to sense both their fears, so he shook off those thoughts. He wanted Kacie to have as much peace as he could offer her, and he wanted Samantha to be free of anxiety so she could be of comfort to Kacie.

The limousine stopped, and the gates to the cemetery swung open so they could drive in. It had slowed from a steady rain to a light drizzle, Matthew held one umbrella open for them, and Harris another to guide them to the canopy set up by the graveside. Kacie tried, but could not help looking at the mound covered by the green carpet, hiding the dirt that would soon be covering her beloveds coffin as he was lowered into the ground. She was alert now, trying to make some sort of contact with him before this was all over. It was important to her to feel he had no fears, that he was calm, that all the Sunday School lessons of how the dead had gone to a better place were true, but it was like she could not be sure without him telling her himself.

All the words of the Priest did not penetrate, so hard was she concentrating on trying to see or feel Grant. It did not work. It was emptiness all around, and that was when she had to cry. The sobs came from within her soul, bubbling up like a cauldron of utter, aching, unreachable pain, and it bent her over, making her father catch her up in his arms, holding her to him like she was a small child, who had injured herself. Her arms reached around him, trying to hold him so tight, he could never leave her as Grant had, then her whole family had encircled her, each of them trying to make their solace felt to her, their touch reach her heart, and finally it did help her to becalm herself once more so the service could go on.

When the sun came fully out, the shadow cast over the coffin by the cloud passing over caught the full attention of Kacie. Then she saw him, and went as quiet as one of the still moonlit nights when they had walked together on the beach. Grant was there, by the tree that grew over the grave of her step brother Will, and he smiled at her, giving that lopsided grin she had come to dream about nightly. He had come to give her his own good bye, the one who she had never been able to read clearly, but who knew her soul inside and out. This was amazing, she had wanted to reach him and could not, and she knew this was not her doing at all, but his. Grant was giving her the peace of knowing he was alright, her faith was not a useless thing, and though this would be the last of his visits, he needed her to know that she should live on.

"I never loved til I knew you, and it is a gift that I am taking with me to all the worlds of God, so go in peace my love, and someday when the time is right, you will move on from me, that is how it should be, that is how I want life to be for you..happy, full, the way we would have lived it my darling..can you promise me you will do that? Please do not let hatred or bitterness be what our love taught you, no matter how it ended, I would hate for that to be our legacy."his message to her was brief, and he could not wait for an answer as he ascended with his spirit to the world she could not see.

It was what she had needed to feel so that she was able to walk back to the waiting car, an arm linked with her father and mother, followed by Justin, Jessica, Ace, Phaedra and Eva. Mischa and Matthew held hands with Jessica, Phaedra and Justin were arm in arm, while Ace supported Eva. It was a family that would stand together, no matter what happened, a family bound by silver threads and golden needles of love and understanding.

"authors notes:" this is the end of it..no all happy endings, but this was a long chronicle of 10 stories binding a family through a long period of time. They have had moments of joy, adventure, tragedy and comedy. I hope those of you who have read these understand what a wonderful experience it has been for me to write them, and how much I have enjoyed all the feedback, the loyalty, as well as how much it is appreciated when a newbie fic writer will tell me she was inspired to start writing fics due to my stories.

So thanks for coming along for the ride..and I will post the answers to the quiz questions when I quit crying! It will probably take a day or two!


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